A Hero's Duty
by BobbyThat'sNotYourPurse
Summary: After a series horrible events at Camp Half-Blood, Percy is unable to call it home. He leaves to travel the world, getting involved in quite a few magical events along the way. Eventually he settles in the tranquil town Arcadia Oaks as a high school teacher, however, his quiet life will soon be interrupted when he sees two trolls in the forest. It seems a hero's duty is never done.
1. Chapter 1

The air in Camp Half-Blood was quiet. Perhaps that was the right word to use, but "tranquil" doesn't quite fit the ensuing events and "heavy" would imply that what was to occur could have been predicted. Sadly, not even the most accurate and specific oracle could have foreseen the tragedy that was about to befall two campers, changing one's life forever. This change would send him down a path that would, ultimately, lead him to do something he never wanted to do again: Save the world.

Percy Jackson lay on his back in the sand on the beach, the sun glancing off his skin. Normally going to the beach brought a smile to the young hero's face, however his expression was one of depression. He had good reason to be sullen in, arguably, his favorite place in the entire camp, as only a few days ago Percy's pet hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary, died giving birth.

He had no idea when she had become pregnant, only that one day a camper noticed her acting differently and told him. The boy was excited at first, after all who wouldn't be happy at the thought of puppies. Come time for her to give birth the entire camp was abuzz. Things took a downward turn in the hours following. The campers who knew how to help gave Percy the news that his beloved dog was soon to fade away. He spent her final moments by the tank-sized canine's side. Mrs. O'Leary gave her master one final lick goodbye, soaking him in drool, before her form dissolved into shadows.

Since then Percy had been mourning his pet, hence his presence on the beach. Next to him sat Annabeth Chase, Percy's girlfriend of two years. She was seated, scrutinizing the edge of her dagger, as though there were a flaw in it only she could see. Any chance Percy made to start a conversation with her he received no answer from her, he assumed she was lost in her own world and was too distraught to bring her out of it. The son of Poseidon gave up his attempts at conversation and laid his head back, closing his eyes. A few minutes later Percy felt a weight on his waist. Assuming Annabeth's head had come down from the clouds, he opened his eyes, expecting to see her face smiling at him gently.

He saw her smile. He also saw the dagger she held above her head.

Percy jerked his head to the side, just in time for the knife to bury itself in the sand. He bucked his hips, throwing Annabeth off of him and into the sand. The boy shot to his feet, holding his up in a warding gesture, "Annabeth, what are you doing?!"

Again, she didn't speak, she just charged him. Percy ducked her strike and drove his shoulder into her stomach. Annabeth fell backwards, holding her stomach. The boy turned and ran back to camp. He heard an inhuman growl behind him. Annabeth must have recovered already. He ran faster. His feet hit the creek, giving him a surge of energy. The water behind him churned and splashed, indicating that Annabeth was still in pursuit.

At this point they had reached a part of camp where other campers could see them. They assumed it was just a lovers' spat. Until Annabeth slashed another camper. She let them fall, their injury nonfatal, and kept after Percy.

Said boy was thinking a million miles a minute, 'Okay, clearly, Annabeth's not herself, but what's wrong with her?' The knife dug itself into the tree next to his head, 'Did I forget something? No, I couldn't have.' The splashing behind him grew closer. Percy chanced a look behind him, 'Shit, shit, shit!' She was almost on top of him. Just as Annabeth was about to grab him, a silver blur tackled her out of the creek.

Thalia pinned her friend down, hands above her head. Annabeth thrashed under her, eyes clenched shut. Thalia shouted at her, "Annabeth, what are you doing?1 Why are-"

She was cut off when her friend raised her head, eyes snapping open to reveal black eyes with golden light shining in the center. Annabeth let loose a roar that could only be described as demonic. She flipped them over so she was on top. She wrenched her wrists from Thalia's hands and raised her dagger. Before she could bring it down, Percy kicked her in the side, throwing her off the daughter of Zeus. He helped her up and the two got ready for Annabeth to do the same. Only she didn't.

Percy grew worried. Tentatively he edged closer to the daughter of Athena, "Annabeth?" He grabbed her shoulder and flipped her over. His eyes grew wide, tears pricking at the corners of them, "No." He collapsed to his knees, Thalia coming to fall next to him. The two of them hugged each other as they stared down at the knife that stuck out from Annabeth's heart.

* * *

The funeral pyre burned high into the sky. The shroud had been reduced to ash and people were still giving speeches on what Annabeth Chase had meant to them. Percy sat surrounded by his friends, the only things keeping him from falling apart and throwing himself into the fire. Thalia and Nico, along with Will Solace, sat on either side of him while his back was taken up by Jason, Piper, Leo and Calypso. Grover couldn't be there with them due to some Lord of the Wild business, and neither could Frank, Hazel or Reyna because of their Praetor duties, so they had to watch through Iris messages. They had even managed to get Magnus, Annabeth's cousin into camp, he was on the stage telling a story about him and Annabeth as kids.

Magnus finished speaking and after a few more people went across the stage, it had come time for Percy to give his speech on Annabeth. As he made his way to the stage, he remembered how Annabeth had been when they held a funeral pyre when everyone thought he had died. Her eyes had been red and puffy from crying, much like his now. She had been distraught, Percy had been that since Mrs. O'Leary died. His train of thought was lost when he bumped into someone.

Malcolm and a few other of the Athena campers blocked his way, "You've got a lot of nerve being here Jackson."

"What are you talking about, Malcolm?" Percy had a bad feeling about this.

"Don't act like this isn't your fault!" One of the others threw her hand behind them, gesturing to the pyre.

Percy didn't argue with them, not just because Thalia came up to them and did that for him, but because he felt that somehow... they were right.

"If this is Percy's fault then I'm just as much to blame!" Thalia stepped closer to Malcolm, "But, oh, you're not gonna say that to me, no, you're too scared to insult me because you don't wanna piss my dad off!"

"Are you trying to start something?" Malcolm kept his face stern but took a step back, "I'm not afraid of you..."

"Really? Prove it." the daughter of Zeus spit in his face. The boy staggered back, trying to wipe the spit off his face. The back of his heel hit one of the steps on the stage, causing him to fall over. The four others moved toward Thalia, whose arms now arched with electricity. Chiron was quickly making his way over to them when Percy intervened.

"That's enough, Thals," he put his hand on her shoulder, "Let's just go." Percy turned, walking out of the amphitheater. Thalia moved to protest, looking back and forth between him and the Athena campers. She relented, however, and followed him, gesturing the others to come with them.

* * *

The friends were all gathered in the Poseidon cabin, minus those who were in Iris messages. They were telling him that what happened wasn't his fault. He was having a difficult time accepting that though.

"Percy, what happened was an accident," Piper put her hand on Percy's shoulder, "Besides if anyone's to blame, it's whatever possessed her."

"Whatever it was wasn't Greek," Calypso held her arm, glancing at Magnus, "It not as old, but it was dark and had to be powerful if it took over Annabeth."

"Let's not worry about that right now." Magnus knelt in front of the son of Poseidon, putting a hand on his knee, "Percy, look, I may not have known you long, but I knew my cousin," the boy looked at the son of Frey from his seat on his bed, "You and I both know that Annabeth wouldn't want you blaming yourself for this."

The two sat there, looking into each others' eyes, and with Magnus subtly working Alf magic to help improve Percy's mood. Piper spoke up, a hint of charm speak in her voice, "Percy, he's right and you know it, she wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this."

The son of Poseidon let out a shuddering breath, "You're right," the group let out a collective sigh, their magic seemed to have worked. The rest of the day passed, Magnus leaving to return to Valhalla, and within the week Thalia had gone back to the hunters. Before she left, however, the huntress had told Nico and the others to keep her updated on Percy.

Over the next two weeks something seemed off with Percy. It's not as though they expected him to be jubilant, his friends never thought that, he just seemed... uncomfortable. His leg no longer seemed to bounce with repressed energy, but with agitation. He could seem to find a suitable place at his table, his empty table. Most of all he could barely get any sleep and had to resort to having the Morpheus campers give him magic sleeping pills.

One day Percy didn't show up. He wasn't at breakfast and he didn't show up for any of his activities. Growing worried, his friends, consisting of Jason, Piper, Leo and Nico, went to his cabin. Upon entering, they were met with Percy packing a backpack. He didn't seem to notice them as he put his clothes in the bag, which didn't seem to expand from its new contents.

Nico was the first to speak, calling out, "Percy?" The boy's head snapped toward them. A lopsided, forlorn smile fell across his face, "You guys are here earlier than I thought."

"Early?" Piper stepped forward, "Percy, it's 3 in the afternoon."

Percy's smile faded, "Oh... in that case you're right on time, and I'm running behind." He started moving again, faster than before, putting his things in the bag. Leo sputtered at that, "Wh- what are you talking about, Percy?"

"I'm leaving Camp Half-Blood."

The words fell on the four like a pile of bricks. Percy was leaving? Jason voiced his thoughts, "You can't just leave camp, Percy!"

The hero sighed, stuffing the Minotaur horn in bag and closing the zipper, "I can't stay, Jason," He slung his bag onto his back, "And I've talked to Chiron, he doesn't approve, but he understands my decision, he won't stop me from trying to leave."

"Well we will!" Nico shouted, blocking the door with his body along with the others, "You can't just leave us like this!"

Percy let out a breath, "Look, guys, I was gonna say goodbye, you just kinda caught me unprepared." The four of them snorted, prompting another sigh from the boy, "I'm sorry about this, really, it's just-"

"It's just what?!" Jason yelled, "What is it that could drive you to just leave your behind?!"

"This place just doesn't feel like home." his voice was heavy, laden with sorrow, "I tried to see if it would pass, but without Annabeth it just doesn't feel like I belong here anymore."

His words took the wind out of his friends' sails, their shoulders sagging. The eighteen year old stepped forward, "Guys, this isn't goodbye, I'll keep in touch, I just can't stay here anymore." He wrapped his arms around his friends, a gesture they returned, "I'll miss you guys."

With that, Percy pushed past them, gently. He walked through the camp one more time. He made his way past all the cabins, everyone giving him strange looks when they saw his bag. He walked through the amphitheater, the arena, the beach. The boy had traversed nearly the entire camp when he stopped at the Big House. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Chiron," Percy called, his voice carrying itself through the house. It took a few minutes, but finally his mentor wheeled himself into the room. His eyes fell on him, dark with emotion, "So, then, you are ready."

It was a statement, not a question, the old centaur knew with just a look that his student had everything he needed. He wheeled closer to the boy, "Have you said your goodbyes?"

"You're the last one left."

Chiron gave him a sad smile, extending his arms. Percy fell into them and hugged him back, "It seems like yesterday when you were leading my class through that museum."

"I know, child, I feel the same." The two extricated themselves from each others' arms. The son of Poseidon turned to leave, "Before you leave, Percy," He turned back to Chiron. The man picked up a box from across the room, setting it in his lap and wheeled back over to his now ex-student, "I thought you should have this- wouldn't want you getting lonely on your self-imposed journey." He stopped in front of the boy.

Percy glanced at him with a look of confusion. He opened the box, looking inside it. A small black puppy looked up at him, tongue lolling out to the side as it panted. The boy grinned and picked it up, eliciting a small noise from the pup. Chiron smiled, "He's one of Mrs. O'Leary's, the runt, smallest hellhound I have laid my eyes on," The small dog barked, "He will probably only grow to be about as big as a large dog."

Percy smiled, cradling the hellhound in one arm and giving his father figure one last hug with the other, "Thank you, Chiron, for everything." With that he turned and left the Big House. He made his way through the camp, headed toward the hill.

Percy reached the crest of Half-Blood Hill. He turned back to gaze at the camp. Finally, he stepped backwards, leaving the camp for the last time.

* * *

 **Six Years Later**

Percy's phone blared its alarm, a rock song randomly selected from its files. His hand shot from under the covers like a cobra and swiped its off button. He pushed himself up, the covers falling off his bare chest. He made his way to his bathroomand turned on the shower. While he waited for the water to heat up he brushed his teeth, looking in the mirror.

He hadn't changed much over the years, physically. His body was as lean and muscular as it was when he left camp, maybe his shoulders had gotten wider, but that was compensated for by his increased height. He felt his job required his hair to be a bit more... formal, so he kept it trimmed to the middle of his neck but it was still as wild and disheveled as ever. Other than that, there wasn't any real change in his appearance.

He spit the minty foam into the sink, chasing it with a cup of mouthwash before he stepped into the shower. Percy let the water wake him up before cleaning himself and exiting the bathroom. He went back to his room to get dressed. Jeans, long sleeved, blue dress shirt, and black blazer. He went downstairs, whistling sharply, "Imperious Rex! Food!" Heavy footfalls could be heard bounding through the house before a large mastiff slid into the kitchen.

It made to jump on its master, only for Percy to hold up a finger, "Ah, ah! We've been over this Imperious: No jumping until I get back from work, not before." The hellhound grumbled, causing the man to laugh. He scratched the side of its neck, burying his face in its fur, before standing and getting the dog food from a cabinet. He poured it in a bowl by the counter. The dog happily ate as the son of Poseidon made a bowl of cereal.

He finished eating at the same time as his pet. Percy set his bowl in the sink, running some water in it so whatever milk was left in it wouldn't crust up while he was at work. He led Imperious Rex to the door to the garage, where he grabbed his keys and put his shoes on. The man straightened himself, giving his dog a stern look, "Can you hold down the fort while I'm gone boy?" It chuffed in response, nodding, "Are you going to go potty in the house?" the canine shook its head, "What do you do if someone breaks in?" The dog hunkered down, baring its teeth and growling, "Good boy, Imperious!" Percy scratched the dog's chest, making it roll over so he could scratch its stomach. Its owner laughed as he did so. He stopped and it rolled back over, "Get my bag, boy, go get it!" It barked and ran upstairs, where it was only for a few seconds before it barreled back down, skidding to a stop in front of its master, the handle of his bag in its mouth.

Percy smiled as he took his bag from the hellhound and slung its strap over his shoulder, "Good boy!" He patted the dog's head before stepping outside, "I'll be back later, buddy!" He shut the door. The man walked over to a tarp draped over a vehicle. He grabbed the tarp and pulled it away, revealing a sleek cobalt sports bike. He had saved his money for years to buy this, he'd earned it. He seated himself on it and wheeled himself past his car and out of the garage.

Mentally, Percy had changed quite a bit through the last six years. During his second year of traveling, he found himself in Memphis, Tennessee. For some reason he was compelled to walk through a library. The inside was nearly devoid of life, except for one person: a tan skinned man in casual clothes and lab coat. Percy could tell there was something different about him, his time as a hero had given him an eye for things that weren't mortal. The man spotted Percy and introduced himself as Thoth, Egyptian god of knowledge. The demigod asked him why he was on Earth as one of the first things he did after leaving camp was to visit Carter and Sadie, who told him of the Egyptian gods leaving Earth until chaos could come back. Thoth just put his finger to his nose and pointed at him. The god didn't need to be told who Percy was, he knew when he first laid eyes on him. The two of them struck up an unlikely friendship, mainly based on Thoth making fun of the other gods and goddesses of knowledge and Percy nodding along. When Percy was going to leave Thoth stopped him, placing a finger on his forehead and speaking in ancient Egyptian. Thoth explained to him that he now had "the gift of Thoth," allowing Percy to better focus in educational settings and to be unable to forget anything he learned. Since then the demigod had gone to college and settled in the quiet town of Arcadia Oaks, putting his education degree to use as the mythology teacher in the local high school.

Percy parked his bike in a "reserved for educators" spot and dismounted. He gazed at the school and its student's.

"Yeah," He smiled, "No place I'd rather be."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know, I should be working on my other stories, I'm trying, I just felt like doing something fresh and recharging my dead batteries with a new story. Don't expect my other stories to be updated too soon, my mind is geared at this one for now since I've been thinking about it ever since I watched the first season of Trollhunters 2 years ago.

In this story Percy is 24. Since he left Camp Half-Blood he traveled the world and did all sorts of things with the pantheons currently in Rick's books (Keep in mind this only extends to the ones the series are based on, not the ones mentioned in passing) and does not include the books under the 'Rick Riordan presents' imprint, partly to keep things simple, partly because I haven't read the one that's out, and because they don't happen in the same universe as Percy. Another thing some may have noticed, in this story Trials of Apollo doesn't happen.

Also this story's pairing may be considered controversial so, in case some prude reports me for it, I've begun to back up this and my other stories on the chance my account gets removed because someone can't handle a bit of realistic drama in their Froot Loops.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is the longest chapter I have written. To. Date. Now, in this chapter that controversial pairing I mentioned last chapter should be revealed. I tried to veil it but I realized that it was obvious and decided, "Fuck it, let's do that." Anyway if you like what you're about to read leave a review, they make me feel good about myself and when I feel good about myself, I write more, so if you want more of this story, review it.

* * *

Percy entered his classroom, seeing that some of his students were already there. He started preparing for his lecture, taking off his bag and setting it behind his desk. He knelt down, removing his laptop from the bag and plugging the overhead projector into it, since, in his words, "there's no way I'm using one of those dinosaurs the school provides." The teacher removed his blazer and draped it over his chair before he started rolling up his sleeves.

He had just finished rolling up his right sleeve when he heard a voice, "Good morning, Mr. Jackson."

Percy looked to his left, still rolling up his sleeve. He smiled at his best student, "Good morning to you too, Ms. Nuñez," He finished rolling his sleeve, leaving his SPQR tattoo in plain view, "I trust you did the required reading for today?"

"Yes sir, I even read ahead a little." Claire nodded, "I couldn't help it, I just really love these kinds of stories."

"That's good to hear," the man chuckled, "Believe it or not, I enjoy when my students take an interest in the material."

"Well, I ." The girl said before the bell rang, signaling her to get to her seat.

Percy walked to the center of the front of the class, "Alright, everyone, that's the bell, phones in your bags, eyes forward please!" He paused, letting the students do as requested, "Good, now, who can tell me where we left off with the Odyssey last week?" A few students raised their hands. He pointed to Claire, "Yes, Claire?"

"On Friday we covered Odysseus' arrival on Scherie, home of the Phaeacians, as well as how they found out who he was."

"Perfect, thank you, Claire," He walked to his bag, pulling out a bag of candy. He reached in and tossed a piece to the girl before setting the bag on his desk, "And how did Odyss-"

The door flew open, two boys stumbling in. Percy looked at them, "Ah, thank you for joining us, Jim, Toby."

Jim started speaking as the two walked to their desks, "Sorry, Mr. Jackson, I was running behind and Tobes didn't-"

"It's fine, Jim, we haven't started todays lecture yet, you're alright." The teacher interrupted, seeing the two visibly relax, "But, perhaps Toby can you tell me how Odysseus got to the island of Scherie?"

The boy froze in his seat, "Uh, okay, um," Toby floundered, "Alright, wasn't there this fish lady who helped him swim there after the big bad water guy wrecked his ship?"

The class chuckled at him, but Percy stopped them, "That's mostly correct, Mr. Domzalski," He tossed the boy a piece of chocolate, "Odysseus was assisted by a sea nymph, or Nereid, as they're called, after Poseidon wrecked the ship that he and Calypso had built. And who remembers how the Phaeacians discovered who he was? Eli?"

"They found him out because when they told stories about the Trojan war Odysseus started crying." The glasses wearing boy answered.

"Correct," another piece of candy was thrown, "And after the Phaeacians made him, they pressured Odysseus to tell him stories of his travels, which we will go over today. Claire, if you would mind getting the lights and projector, please?" The girl got up from her seat, pressing the power button on the projector above her before moving to turn of the lights as her teacher lowered a blank, white screen. Once she sat down, Percy thanked her before waving to the now lit projection on the screen behind him, "Odysseus' first stop led to an accidental encounter with the Lotus Eaters, anyone remember who they were from the reading?" Some of the kids raised their hands, but Percy's eyes were drawn to the back of the class where one of them had fallen asleep almost as soon as the lights went out, his head slumped back and arms limp.

The teacher reached into his bag once again, this time pulling out a thick, worn book. He quietly made his way to the student's desk, shushing the others along the way. Percy raised the book above his head and let it drop. It hit the desk with a loud thump, snapping its occupant awake with a small scream, "Palchuk, you're alive! You had me excited for a minute!" The class giggled as Percy made his way to the front again, "Maybe you can answer my question: who were the Lotus Eaters?"

Steve looked at him, a look of frustration on his face, "That's the question? The answer is their name! They were a bunch of butt snacks that ate lily pads!"

Percy sighed, unsurprised, "I'm sorry, Steve, but that's not the answer I was looking for," He moved to a portion of the chalkboard that was uncovered by the screen, "The Lotus Eaters are a group of human looking creatures, and their primary goal is to distract people from what they are trying to accomplish, mainly those who are on journeys or quests like Odysseus. They feed the travelers the same lotuses they eat, causing them to forget about their goals as well as anything but their want to stay with the Lotus Eaters." He wrote on the board a list of notes on the Lotus Eaters and turned back to the class, "An example of a modern Lotus Eater is a casino where you always win, the idea that you just keep winning and getting more and more money would warp one's priorities, lest they be of strong will."

The students stared at him the way they always do when he falls into a rant on a mythological story: wide eyed, enraptured, intrigued, and surprised. The teacher hit a button on his computer, changing the slide, "As you may have already noticed, most of the obstacles Odysseus faces are meant to stall and prevent him from getting back to Ithaca, this is but the first and easiest of the obstacles. Now, onto the next encounter: the cyclops, Polyphemus. Odysseus and his men come across a beautiful expanse of land, to which they wonder why it is uninhabited. They soon find out why as, after they raid an empty cave, the soldiers find Polyphemus at the mouth of the cave." He stopped to catch his breath and continued, "Polyphemus traps them inside the cave and over the next three days eats some of them. They only get out of the cave by stabbing the monster in the eye and sneaking out on the undercarriages of his sheep. Who remembers what Odysseus did next?" Claire raised her hand, "Ms. Nuñez?"

"Odysseus had Polyphemus fooled, using the name No Wun so that the other cyclopes would think he had been blinded by the gods, but Odysseus got cocky and bragged that he defeated him and said his real name." The girl answered, "This is what got Poseidon so angry at him in the first place since all cyclopes are children of Poseidon."

"That's the sort of answer I'm looking for," Percy pointed at his best student, "Answered my question perfectly as well as the one I didn't even ask yet, thank you, Claire." The girl blushed and smiled under the praise. The rest of the class looked at her with expressions of either jealousy or joy. Jim raised his hand, "Yes, Jim?"

"Why would Poseidon defend a monster like Polyphemus?" the boy spread his hands, "I understand that he's his son, but why go after him after everything Polyphemus did."

"That's a good question," Percy sighed, remembering his conversation with Poseidon about this very thing, "It's just like you and Claire said, Polyphemus is Poseidon's son, and from what I've seen in Greek mythology, parents either really love their kids or their trying to kill them to prevent said kids from killing them in the future. Another thing to remember is that Poseidon is a god, what would the life of a mortal mean to immortal?" The teacher tossed candy to Claire and Jim, "To Poseidon Odysseus and his men were like ants who happened to walk up to the kid who likes to pour water on bugs. Also, you can't compare the morals of someone from millennia ago to those of us today. People change, so if Poseidon were around today, yeah, I'd say he wouldn't approve of Polyphemus and what he did."

The bell rang again when Percy finished speaking, prompting the students to start packing. The teacher called over the noise, "Alright, we'll pick this up tomorrow, reread what you have to, be prepared and Palchuk try to stay awake next time. Also, I'll be helping Miss Janeth with the Romeo and Juliet auditions, I'm looking at you guys, we need more boys to audition, get on it." He leaned back on his desk, catching the grateful look Claire sent him for the play announcement.

He watched the students leave until he saw Steve elbow Jim, causing him to drop his books. The boy growled lightly as he and Toby knelt down to gather his things. Percy walked over to them and helped, "Thanks, Mr. Jackson."

"No problem," The three of them stood, "You know, Jim, when I was in middle school there was this kid who used to treat me the same way Steve does you."

"What, really?" Toby asked, "But you're cool Mr. Jackson, the guy who always gives people candy, how could anyone not like you?"

Percy chuckled, "Well, Toby, I wasn't always "cool Mr. Jackson," back then I was "different school every year Percy Jackson," but that's not the point of this," He looked back at Jim, "Anyway, he kept bothering me until one day I did something about it."

"What'd you do?"

"Well, I pegged him in the face with a dodgeball," Percy simplified his run in with the Laistrygonians, "But I'm not telling you to do that, I'm just saying that you have to stand up to him, it doesn't even have to be for yourself, it could be for another kid, all you have to do is show him you're not afraid."

The teacher clapped a hand on Jim's shoulder, getting a smile from the boy, "Thanks, Mr. Jackson."

"Don't mention it," He motioned the boys out of the room, "Now get to Strickler's before he comes looking for you two."

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully for Percy, though he did hear that Jim and Steve did have an altercation from some students whispering in the back of his class. He felt a bit of pride until he heard that Steve now had it in for the boy, 'Can't expect your advice to work for everybody.' It was unfortunate that his advice hadn't helped Jim the way he thought it would but for now all the teacher wanted was to get home.

Percy parked his bike behind his car and went to the door. He set his hand on the knob, preparing himself for what was coming. He threw the door open and was immediately tackled by a black mass of fur. Imperious Rex had Percy pinned to the garage floor, its tongue dragging across the man's face, leaving trails of drool after each lick. Laughing, the demigod pushed the dog off of himself, "I know, boy, I love you!" He stood up and made his way inside, the dog following happily. He set his keys on the table, took his blazer off, throwing it on a chair, and went upstairs as he unbuttoned his shirt. He tossed his shirt on his bed before finding and putting on a black t-shirt. The man turned to his dog, patting his knees, "Wanna go outside, boy, do ya?"

The hellhound slapped its front half on the floor, raising its wagging tail as high as it could, and let out a loud bark, "Well then let's go, buddy, come on, backyard, go!" The dog whirled around and bolted from the room, its claws clicking rapidly on the floor. Percy chased after his dog, catching up to it at the screen door in the living room that lead to the backyard. It already had a large rubber bone in its mouth when he opened the door, letting the dog out into the fresh air.

The sun was setting, bathing the sky in an orange light and casting shadows across the town, probably not the best time to play with a loud, massive dog but Percy didn't care, the only neighbors whose opinions he valued were the Nuñezes across the street and he was in good standings with them, they wouldn't mind hearing his dog bark on occasion.

The man took the rubber bone from Imperious' mouth and threw it across the backyard. The dog took off after it. It jumped into the air, catching it before it touched the ground. Percy clapped, saying words of praise, a signal to bring the bone back. He played with his dog for a while, until the sun had fully set, before he whistled, "Come on Imperious, back inside!"

He slid the glass door open, letting the dog through. A rustling in the forest behind the house stopped Percy from following after it. He looked into the trees as Imperious stepped back outside, hackles raised and growling, "Imperious get back in the house." Percy commanded. The dog didn't budge, still eyeing the woods beyond the fence, "Imperi-"

Imperious took off before its master could finish. It tore across the yard, barking, and leapt over the fence and into the trees. "Imperious!" Percy shouted and gave chase, hopping the fence.

The darkness made it difficult to see the hellhound, the demigod could only see it occasionally through the small breaks in the branches. The rustling from earlier had turned into thrashing as whatever the dog had run after tried to get away. There was a shout of alarm ahead of him, prompting the man to run faster. He reached a small clearing and saw his dog on top of someone with a large figure running towards them on all fours.

Acting quickly, Percy reached into his pocket, grabbed his pen and uncapped it. Riptide sprang to full size in the son of Poseidon's hand, only for him to throw it like a spear. It embedded itself in a tree in front of the large figure. It stumbled in surprise, tripping over one of its fists.

Percy raced to the tree and ripped his sword out of it. He held it to the large figure, "If you touch that dog," he panted, narrowing his eyes, "it will be the last thing you ever do."

He finally got a good look at the figure. It was large with broad shoulders and gray skin with what looked like engravings etched into it. Green, moss-like fur clung to its shoulders and head. Its head was what surprised Percy the most. It had a large head, a mouth with an underbite, brilliant green eyes, a purplish nose and small horns.

'A monster, obviously,' Percy leaned further to get a better look, consequently bringing the blade closer to it as well, 'But what kind.'

"Please!" the figure underneath Imperious shouted, "Do not harm my friend, I implore you!"

The swordsman didn't take his eyes off the monster, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"We mean no harm, human!" the figure claimed, "Please call off your hellhound!"

'So, they recognized that, huh?' Percy thought, as he backed up to where he could see both of the figures, "Imperious Rex, heel!" The dog stepped off the other figure, moving to stand next to the demigod, "Go home, boy." The dog moved, but hesitated, "Home, boy, I'll be fine." It seemed to accept this, as it took off back the way they came.

With Imperious now off of it, Percy looked at the smaller figure. This one had blue skin, with similar carvings as the other, as well as four arms. Its too had an underbite, under six eyes and a flat, narrow, orange nose. It had four horns, the two closer to the center of its head smaller that the others, as well as blue hair on the back of its head, making it look as though it was balding.

The man tightened his grip on the sword, "You didn't answer me, who are you and what do you want?"

The blue one coughed, "Yes, well, this," it gestured to the large one, "is my friend Aarghaumont, he is a pacifist by nature, your blade is quite unnecessary," Percy lifted the sword higher, causing it to hurry to speak, "I am Blinky, also not too keen on fighting!"

"Alright, that answers part of the question," the man lowered his sword back to where it was, "Now what do you want? Talk...fast."

Blinky spoke again, "We are searching for the home of one James Lake Jr., you wou-"

Percy interrupted, his voice tightening, sword rising again, "What do you want with the boy?"

The big one, Aarghaumont, took over, "Has been chosen."

"For what?" The demigod asked.

"What Aargh is trying to say is," Blinky hurriedly said, "Young James has been chosen by the Amulet of Daylight to take up the mantle of Trollhunter,"

"Is that what you two are? Trolls?" the man questioned, he remembered reading something about this, a small passage in a vague Arthurian legend.

"Yes, and the Trollhunter is the guardian of Troll and humankind alike!" the blue troll continued, "It is imperative that we find James Lake Jr. so that we may train him in what it means to be the Trollhunter!"

Percy thought about what to do. On one hand, this Trollhunter thing sounded important, fate of the world important, but on the other, his teacher instincts didn't trust leaving one of his students in the hands of two monsters. He asked another question, his voice gentler, "This Trollhunter thing, is there any way to change it to where the boy isn't the Trollhunter?"

Blinky shook his head, "No, James being chosen was a matter of fate," Percy winced, he knew a thing or two about fate, "The only way to change him being the Trollhunter would be to kill him."

That was out of the question. Percy lowered Riptide. It looked like he would have to trust these two for now, "I can show you where he lives, I had to go to his house for a parent-teacher conference last year." He began to lead them through the forest, toward the town so he could get his bearings.

"Ah!" Blinky exclaimed, the two following the demigod "Did you hear that, Aargh? This man is an educator of Master James!" The troll turned to Percy, "Tell us, good sir, what is your name?"

The man hesitated, asking himself if he should tell them. Finally, he gave in, "Perseus. Perseus Jackson, I go by Percy though. And James like to be called Jim, by the way."

The two trolls gasped, stopping in their tracks. The small troll turned to his friend, "Aargh, Aargh! Did he just say what I think he said?!" Blinky ran to Percy's side, "You are Percy Jackson? _The_ Percy Jackson?!"

"Yes?" Percy stepped away, "I'm assuming you know about me?"

" _Know about you_?!" the troll waved his four arms, "There's not a magical being in existence who has not heard the tales of Percy Jackson! Oh, just wait until we return to Trollmarket! We can tell the others about how we met the great hero-" He gasped, an epiphany forming, "Hero!" He grabbed Percy's shoulders, "You can help us train Master Ja- Jim! Master Jim! Oh, it would do him wonders to learn from you, Master-"

"No." the demigod stopped walking.

"What?" Blinky and Aargh froze behind him.

"I'm flattered, honored really, that you want my help," Percy turned to them, "But I can't help you. I have a good thing going here, a nice job, a good house, for once, the first time in my life... it's quiet." He held his hand to his chest, "I don't want to lose that, not yet, so please, don't tell Jim about me."

Blinky smiled gently, "I understand, Master Percy, if that is what you wish, we shall make no mention of you."

"Thank you, Blinky." Maybe Percy wouldn't have such a hard time with these two after all.

* * *

Percy moved back into the forest when the three of them had gotten close enough to Jim's house that he could lead the trolls to it through the forest. They stood facing the house, "Thank you, for leading us here, Master Percy."

"Don't mention it, just go shatter the kid's reality." The demigod hurried the two along, staying in the forest. He watched the two squeeze into the basement and waited. He heard screams of panic coming from the house, accompanied by the enthusiastic shouts of Blinky. After a while he saw the trolls exit the house and come back into the forest.

Blinky clapped as they walked away, "Well, I believe that went as well as it could have."

Aargh rolled his eyes, "Could have been better."

They stopped in a clearing, the trolls facing the demigod. The blue troll spoke, "This is where we part ways, Master Percy," he extended a hand, "Until we meet again."

Percy shook the hand, hoping that next time was a long time away, "It was... nice meeting you, Blinky, Aargh." He nodded at them in turn. They began to walk away until the man shouted after them, "If I find out either of you hurt Jim in any way, you'll have to deal with me personally, and trust me, it won't be pretty." He saw the two shiver at the threat. Satisfied, the demigod went home.

When he got back, the backdoor was still open from earlier. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He went into the kitchen and saw Imperious Rex in the middle of it. It had its front on the floor and rear in the air, looking intently at the kitten that had wandered in. The dog glanced at its owner, who looked it in the eye and pointed at the feline, "We're not keeping it."

* * *

Walking into work the next day got Percy quite a few looks. He had opted to drive his car to work, a humble thing, not nearly as extravagant as his bike. He parked in his spot and opened the back to the car. What he pulled out was the source of the stares. Through the halls, the teacher carried a large, seemingly empty, pet carrier.

He opened the door to his classroom, garnering more stares from the students, and set the cage on his desk.

"What's with the pet cage, Mr. Jackson?" Claire asked, coming to the front of the room.

"Ah, well, last night Imperious chased something into the woods and I had to go after him," Percy began.

The girl's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh, no, is he okay?"

The man smiled at her concern, "Ah, he's fine, it was probably just some raccoons," he told her, using his experience in hiding magical happenings, "Problem is I left the back door open and when we got back we found this in the kitchen."

He went around his desk and opened the door to the cage. He reached in and pulled out the small gray kitten his dog had been infatuated with the night before. Claire gasped, "Oh, she's so cute!" The girl fawned over the small cat, scratching its chin. The cat purred, raising its head so she could scratch it better.

"Yeah, thing is I can't keep her," the teacher explained, petting its head, "I brought her hear to see if anyone would want to take her home."

"I'll take her!" Claire said excitedly, "I love cats!"

Percy extended the cat out to her, "Are you sure? Your parents won't mind you just bringing home a cat?"

The teen scoffed, "Please, my parents don't notice anything unless my grades go from A's to A-'s." She took the cat, cradling it like a baby.

Her words struck something in the teacher. He leaned in, "They putting pressure on you again?"

"Yeah," she stroked the cat's head, "I got a B on an assignment the other day and I thought they were going to start a lynch mob! The first thing they did was suggest I drop the play."

"What?!" Percy was aghast, "Don't they know how much the play means to you?"

"I don't know, it's like..." the girl sighed, "Sometimes it's like they don't really pay much attention to me, I love them and everything, but it just seems like they only see how I can help or hinder my Mom's career."

Percy's heart went out to the teen. He may not have had a councilwoman for a mother, but he knew what it was like trying to please a parent. He put a hand on Claire's shoulder, lowering his voice so only they could hear, "You know, Claire, I never knew my father until I was twelve years old, didn't know who he was and didn't even know his name. Then, there came the day when I did meet him, and all I wanted was his approval, I felt that way for the next three years. You know what I realized that third year, Claire?"

The girl's eyes were wide, "What?"

He smiled at her, "I realized that the only person whose approval I needed was my own. Why should I care what my Dad thinks about me? I hadn't seen him since I was a baby, he didn't even know me!" Percy stopped himself, pulling his hand away, "You shouldn't worry what anyone, even your parents, thinks of you, as long as you don't let their thoughts get to you you'll be golden."

Claire returned his smile, "Thank you, Mr. Jackson, that means a lot."

"No problem, Claire," Percy lifted the pet carrier off his desk and set it on the floor, "Now, that's not to say you should start doing poorly in your classes, I have high expectations for you!"

The girl laughed as the bell rang. She went to her seat as the teacher began to quickly set up his presentation.

* * *

Percy sat in his living room, watching television as Imperious gnawed on a rawhide next to him. He was sipping a beer, flicking through channels, when there was a sound in the back yard, followed by a knock on the glass door. The demigod looked at the door as his dog began to growl.

Blinky stood on the other side of the door, waving with a bashful smile on his face. Percy swore in Greek, standing and opening the door, "What's the matter, Blinky?"

The troll entered the house, wary of Imperious, and sat across from him, "I apologize for the intrusion, Master Percy, but I have come seeking advice."

Imperious stopped growling, noticing its master wasn't hostile toward the creature. The man scratched the hellhound's head, "What sort of advice?"

Blinky stared pensively at the dog as it sniffed him, "Last night's meeting with Master Jim did not go as well as I had hoped, he seems wary of being the Trollhunter."

"What did you expect?" Imperious licked the troll, making him jerk away, "You did just show up in his basement and drop a bombshell on him."

"Yes, I now see the error in my plan, which is why I have come to you for guidance in... guiding." Blinky clasped his hands together, blinking at the man.

Percy let his head slump back, thinking of something to say. He may have been a teacher but he never had to teach someone to teach, "Gods, Chiron made this look easy..." He looked at the troll, "Did you give him the speech about destiny and fate yet?"

"I made quite sure to relay the certainty of the amulet's choice, yes."

"Okay, um, hammer that home next time you see him, and something you should do is tell him what it means to be a hero, or at least what it means to be Trollhunter."

"These seem to be very basic points, Master Percy."

"Yeah, I'm not Chiron," Percy admitted, "I'm good at preparing kids for their futures, training heroes... that's another matter all together."

"Hmm, quite," Blinky stood, "I shall be going, Percy, Aargh and I are going to visit Jim's domicile tonight, I thank you for your assistance."

"Don't mention it," the man opened the door for him, "Just promise me that you will keep Jim safe."

"You have my word, Master Percy, I shall try my best!" Blinky declared, moving back into the forest.

"That's all I can ask." Percy shut the door.

* * *

The garage door opened and Percy edged his motorbike onto the driveway. He was about to put on his helmet when he heard voices across the street. Looking up the teacher saw Claire and her mother in their driveway. They weren't shouting, but the way they waved their arms told Percy that they weren't exactly calm.

The demigod hung the helmet on one of the handle bars, dismounted and made his way across the street. The girl noticed him approaching, and seemed to relax, her face untightening and shoulders lowering. Percy spoke when he got close enough, "Excuse me, Mrs. Nuñez, is something the matter?"

Claire's mother let out an exasperated sigh, and turned to the teacher, "Hello, Percy, I'm sorry if we disturbed you, Claire is just a bit upset that neither me or her father can pick her up from the auditions tonight," He gestured to her daughter, "I still think she should forget the play and focus on her grades but..."

Claire's face turned angry, "And I told you-"

"Woah, woah," Percy raised a placating hand, interrupting the girl, "Let's just calm down, alright?" He looked to Mrs. Nuñez, "I assure you, Javier, Claire's grades are some of the best in the school, she has nothing to worry about on that front," the mother relaxed and the teacher continued, "But you have to realize how much this play means to your daughter, she's been waiting for these auditions for quite a while, and," he leaned in, hand over one side of his mouth, "Think of how much her being on that stage could help your career," He straightened back up, "I guarantee you that Claire being in the play will let people see what a wonderful girl she is, and whose responsible for raising her?"

Ophelia put a hand to her chin in thought, looking into the distance. Percy turned to his student and winked. She stifled a laugh as her mother turned back, "I see your point, Percy, Claire can stay in the play and you won't hear any protest from me."

Claire hugged her mother, a smile on her face, "Thank you, Mamá."

The council woman was taken off guard at first but soon relaxed and rubbed her daughter's head affectionately, "This still doesn't change that we can't pick you up later."

"Oh, I can bring her home, if you want," Percy volunteered, "I have to stay behind to help with auditions, anyway."

"Really, you'd do that?" Mrs. Nuñez asked.

"Of course, it's no problem, I'll even take her to school if you want," the teacher offered, "It would allow you to get to work earlier."

The mother gave a thoughtful sound, turning to her daughter, "Is that alright with you, Claire?"

The teen nodded enthusiastically, "That's perfect, Mamá."

Ophelia looked back to her neighbor, "Alright, Percy, you have a deal," she extended her hand, which he took, "On one condition," the woman tightened her grip on his hand, shooting a small jolt of pain through his arm, and pointed back across the street, "She doesn't set a foot on that bike."

She released the man's hand, allowing him to lightly shake it, "Understood, Councilwoman. Let's go, Claire, you have to learn and I have to teach."

The girl followed him across the street, waving to her mother, "Bye, mom, I'll see you tonight!"

Percy pushed his bike back into the garage as Claire sat herself in the passenger seat, her bag between her legs. The man opened the driver side door, glancing at his passenger, and froze.

Claire was seated, her eyes forward and a small smile gracing her features. Surrounding her, as though she had sat inside a hologram, was an image of Annabeth. Noticing her teachings hesitation, the teen looked at him, Annabeth's hologram matching her movements, "Are you alright, Mr. Jackson?"

Percy shook his head, blinking rapidly before squeezing his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes, Annabeth's hologram was gone and all he saw was Claire wearing a worried expression. Quickly burying his thoughts, the demigod apologized, "Sorry, Claire, I guess I spaced out for a second." He got in beside the girl, buckled himself in and puled out of the driveway.

They drove in silence for the next few minutes until Claire broke it, "Mr. Jackson, yesterday, the advice you gave me..."

"About not caring what your parents thought about you?" The man asked, happy for the distraction.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it," The girl looked down at her lap, "And I don't think I can be so carefree about what they think of me."

"That's perfectly fine, Claire," Percy rounded a corner, "What I said yesterday... I think it only worked for me because my Dad wasn't around when I was growing up, the only things I knew about him was that he was Greek and a sailor, I didn't have any experience with him, in fact I kinda blamed him for what my first stepdad did."

"What did he do?" Claire asked reproachfully.

The teacher let out a heavy breath, "After my Dad left, my Mom raised me on her own for a few years, but after a while, I dunno, she thought I needed a father figure so she started dating this- this fucking dickhead, Gabe Ugliano," Claire's eyes widened at hearing her teacher swear, "At first I thought Gabe was just your run of the mill bad husband, drinking beer, playing poker, acting like was better than his wife," Percy's hands gripped the wheel tighter, his voice taking on a grave tone, "And then when I was twelve, right after I met my Dad for the first time, I found out he'd been hitting her. I wanted nothing more than for him to just die, but my Mom stopped me from doing anything, which was probably for the best, and said she was going to handle him. A few weeks later, Gabe disappeared without a trace, my Mom thinks that he was cheating in her and left so he could be with his mistress, I for one was ecstatic that he was out of our lives. Still, I blame my Dad for that, just a little, if he had stayed she would have never have had to go through what Gabe did to her and I would have grown up with a father."

Claire's hands were over her mouth, "Mr. Jackson, I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Percy sighed, "It's alright, Claire, if I didn't want to answer your question I wouldn't have, and besides, everything turned out fine in the end, my mom got remarried a few years later to a teacher," He smiled at the memories of Sally and Paul's wedding, "He made her happy and that's all I wanted for her. Eventually, my mom got pregnant and I now have an adorable little sister, Estelle."

The girl smiled at that until she remembered something, "What about your father."

"We're on good terms now," the teacher took another turn, "He knows I blame him for Gabe but we're past that."

"Well that's good."

Percy smiled, "Yeah, it is."

They pulled into the school and Percy parked in his space. The two left the car and Claire thanked him for the ride before she headed to her friends. He watched her go until he was sure she was out of earshot and pulled out his phone, he went to his contacts and hit the one he was looking for. He walked as it rang, waiting for an answer. He reached the entrance to the school and got an answer, "Hey, Nico," he turned back and glanced at Claire, who trying to hide her blushing face from her friends, "I need a favor."

* * *

The school day felt slow for Percy, that morning's events sticking in his head. Finally the day was half over, meaning it was the students' lunch break and the teachers' break from the students. Percy was seated in the teachers' lounge trying to sort his thoughts.

"Hey, you alright there, Jackson?" Coach Lawrence asked the younger teacher.

The man looked at the gym teacher, "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, "Just didn't get much sleep last night."

"What'd you do, watch that Quiet Place movie?" the larger man sat down across from him with a laugh, "When me, Steve, and his mom watched it, he hid my whistle, couldn't find it for three days!"

Percy laughed with the other teachers in the room, "No, it was just one of those nights, y'know?"

The others hummed in understanding, taking simultaneous sips of their coffee, something that slightly disturbed the demigod. Lawrence patted the table, "I know what'll help ya feel better: comin' with me and Uhl for drinks tonight!"

"Sorry, Coach, I would but I've gotta help with the play with Janeth, remember?" the son of Poseidon reminded him.

"Aw, c'mon," the man got up and nudged him, "Can't you miss just one day?"

The youngest in the room shrugged, "Maybe if it were actual rehearsals, but it's the auditions today and I'm looking forward to how the kids do."

"Alright, I gotcha, some other time then," Coach Lawrence relented, "What about you, Strickler, you up for drinks?"

"I'm afraid I have a prior engagement," the history teacher raised his mug, "But I'll be sure to take up your offer on a later date."

"Suit yourselves," the coach finished his coffee and put his arm around Uhl, "Looks like it's me and you tonight, buddy!" The two of them laughed as they left the room, Strickler taking the seat Lawrence left.

The two men looked each other in the eye. Percy wanted to like the man across from him, the subjects they taught - ancient history and mythology - practically went hand in hand, and he was reminded of Chiron whenever he saw Strickler interact with the students, but there was something about him that made him that made the younger man want to keep his distance. Their jobs, however, meant the two were never too far from one another, especially considering they were both chaperones for a field trip in a few weeks.

Strickler broke the tension between them, "So, Perseus, I couldn't help but notice you drove Ms. Nuñez here today?"

Percy cringed at his full name, another thing he didn't like about the man across from him, "Yeah, she and her mom got a bit into each other this morning because neither of her parents could pick her up from the auditions."

"Mm," the history teacher hummed, "So you offered to drive her to and from school until the play is over?"

"Pretty much," the demigod leaned back in his seat, images of Claire flying through his mind. He shook them away, "Mrs. Nuñez didn't seem to mind, so long as I didn't let Claire ride my bike."

"I don't understand how you young folk can ride those... contraptions." Strickler waved his cup.

"It's mostly about the rush it gives me," the mythology teacher answered, "Being a teacher I kinda need the excitement every now and then, y'know?"

"It is a bit dull of a position isn't it? It is fulfilling, though, in the end." He took another sip of his coffee, letting silence settle between the two of them. After a while, he broke it, "She is a wise girl, Claire, like a modern day Minerva."

Percy almost thought Strickler was messing with him, but his phone rang, interrupting his train-of-thought. He pulled it from his pocket, looking at the name on the screen: Nico. He turned to his fellow teacher, "Sorry, I gotta take this."

"By all means, don't mind me." Strickler smirked at him. The demigod's eyes lingered on the man before he answered, going to the other side of the small room and leaned against the counter, "Whatcha got, Nico?"

"I don't think you're gonna like it much, Perce," the son of Hades told him through the speaker, "Annabeth's still in Hades, Elysium, she didn't go for rebirth."

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, fuck you!" Nico made an offended noise, "Of course I'm sure, this isn't something I'd take lightly! You're saying you saw a see through Annabeth around this girl, but if her spirit had gotten out of here you'd be the first to know."

"Right, sorry, man..."

The boy on the other end sighed, "It's fine, Percy, but there's something you should hear, something my Dad said."

Percy didn't like the sound of that, "What did he say?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure Annabeth was still down here, that I hadn't missed something, so I went to talk to him and I told him what you told me, you know, asking if he could double check. What he said is what I'm not sure you'll like."

The son of Poseidon tightened his grip on his phone, trying to strangle the words out of his friend through it, "What was it, Nico?"

* * *

"Thank you for auditioning, Eli," Miss Janeth waved the boy off stage, "Next!"

Percy watched as the boy walked offstage, only for his boxed person to be replaced by Claire's slim figure. The woman next to him made a sound of relief, "Ah, Claire! Auditioning for the role of Juliet, I assume?"

The girl nodded with a smile, "That's right, ma'am."

"Nothing but the lead role for you is it, Claire?" Percy grinned as he and Miss Janeth got ready to take notes on her performance.

Claire chuckled lightly, "No, sir."

"Well, show us what you've got." The man leaned forward, pen in hand.

The teen straightened, closing her eyes and taking a breath. When she opened her eyes Percy could tell she was in character right off the bat, the air around her changing, "Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;" Claire moved her arms, using them to accentuated her words, "For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night Whiter than new snow on a raven's back." She extended her one hand to the audience, the other clasped to her chest, "Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-browed night, Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die," She gestured up, toward the ceiling, "Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun."

Claire's voice grew softer as she finished her performance, closing her eyes once more. She clasped her hands in front of her, smiling at the audience as they clapped for her, "Well done, Ms. Nuñez." Miss Janeth winked at her.

"Yes, best performance so far." Percy remarked, making her smile brighter. She moved offstage as the other teacher called the next student on and leaned in to whisper to him, "I believe we have our Juliet, don't you?" Miss Janeth nudged him and he nodded as Jim, dressed in silver armor went to center stage and Claire sat next to him.

"Jim?" the mythology teacher asked, "Well, this is unexpected, I didn't take you for an actor."

The boy chuckled nervously, "Oh, I'm full of surprises, Mr. Jackson."

The man looked him up and down. He knew the armor was no costume, years of experience taught him how to tell the difference, and that sword was no prop, 'Is that what the Trollhunter wears? Not too bad..." he thought, and smiled, "I think I speak for all of us when I say I look forward to what you have for us."

The teen let out another nervous noise, gulping. He looked at the audience, blinking, before he spoke, "Destiny-" He faltered, shutting his eyes, "Destiny is a gift." He reopened his eyes, "Some go their entire lives, living existence as a quiet desperation. Never learning the truth that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon our shoulders," He reached to his back, removing the sword and pointing it toward the audience, "Is actually, a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valor, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear, is what is means to be a hero. Don't think."

Jim made a show of flourishing the blade, earning gasps from the audience, "Become!"

"Oh my!" Miss Janeth clutched her clipboard to her chest as the rest of the audience erupted into applause. Percy turned to Claire, "He's not too bad, is he?" She nodded in agreement. The teacher began to think, 'There's no way he thought of that on his own, Jim's smart but he couldn't have just pulled that out of nowhere. It kinda sounded like Chiron.' The answer dawned on him, making him grin, 'Blinky, you convinced him.' He walked to the stage, Claire following behind him, "Well done, Jim, that was quite the performance."

"Heh, thanks, Mr. Jackson, I didn't even think, I just spoke!" the boy kneeled down to eye level.

"That's acting!" Claire spoke.

"I did notice your swordplay was a bit off," Percy drew the boy's attention, "Maybe I could help with that, my step-father was a Shakespearean actor in college and I am formally trained in swordsmanship."

The two students looked at him in shock. He had never told them that before, "Yeah, thanks, Mr. Jackson, that'd be great!"

"Good, we start next weekend," the demigod put his hand out for Jim to shake, After he did so the teacher and Claire went back to their seats to collect their things.

"So where were trained to use a sword?" the girl asked, earning a smile from the man.

"Summer camp." He slung his bag onto his shoulder, "Come on, let's get you home."

The two made their way to the parking lot and got into Percy's car. He drove them through the town, and when they were almost to their Claire asked him something, "Hey, Mr. Jackson? Why did you tell that boy you'd start training him next weekend? Aren't you free this weekend?"

Percy shook his head, "I was earlier, but I got this call from my Mom during lunch, my step-dad, Paul, is in the hospital, I don't know the specifics, but I'm headed to New York after school tomorrow."

"Oh no, I hope he's okay, you made him sound like a nice guy." Claire put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, he is," Percy turned onto their street, stopping in front of her house.

The teen hopped out of the car with a goodbye and Percy watched her head inside, remembering what Nico said earlier.

"My dad said you should talk to Aphrodite."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, things have been good so far with this story, but I have yet to address the reviews so here they are.

TheCrazedBerserker: This looks interesting and seems to be well written. Good job.  
thelifeandtimes: Never watched trollhunter but this story seems like it could be interesting. Great start.  
GuyUnderABridge: i find this amusing cause I just finished watching the 3rd season of trollhunters a while ago, great start by the way

A: I grouped these together because they were all pretty similar, but nevertheless thank you for your kind works and I hope this story meets your expectations and more.

bee boys: Hello there! This story is looking good so far, but I'm, like, slightly concerned about the "controversial pairing" you mentioned in the Author's Note? I'm not gonna report you for it, because I'm fairly certain you have to have an account to do that, but could you maybe say what pairing you're doing? Because I'd honestly prefer to know going in, as opposed to learning that it's a pairing that makes me uncomfortable 10 chapters in. Other than that, this seems to be well written. The "Annabeth getting possessed" thing was honestly a little abrupt? But there will probably be an explanation in a later chapter, so it's all good.

A: Was the last chapter a good hint? I revealed the pairing earlier than I wished but I just didn't see a way around it. I wanted to withhold it for a while, you know to build drama, but I couldn't figure out how to be sly about a teacher falling in love with his student and vice versa.

Mystborn08: Hey, pretty good start. Looking forward to seeing more. Percy Jackson is an interesting choice to cross with Trollhunters, but it seems like it could work pretty well, and I'm excited to see where you take it. Curious what you mean by a "controversial" pairing, but if it does cause you issues, there's always alternative sites that are less strict. Anyways, can't wait to read more.

A: Yeah, I don't like the alternate sites, they may be more lenient but I find it hard to read from them because they're not aesthetically pleasing to me and I can't imagine writing on them is any better.

Miltonius: Oh wow, wtf. Is this Percy/Claire? Just a reminder, pedophilia is illegal

A: It is?! Holy shit, I thought it was socially accepted for a grown man to go after underage girls. Of course I knew that, I wanted to do this pairing for that reason, it's a social taboo that makes for good drama! You ever watch the beginning of Riverdale? Archie and Mrs. Grundy didn't give a fuck- ok, well, Mrs. Grundy gave him a few fucks, but they were fine until they were found out. My point is this: I know it's illegal, that's part of why I'm writing it.

With that out of the way, this chapter gets a bit... racy. I'm telling you this now so you're prepared for it because I won't put up a **LEWD CONTENT AHEAD** warning just before it, it messes with the flow of the story. Now, on with it!

* * *

The school day was over, rehearsal for the play was through, and Percy had dropped Claire off at her house, which left the man free of external distraction and happy it was a Friday. He went through his drawers, picking out clothes for his trip and setting them in the bottomless bag he'd used when he left Camp Half-Blood. Once he had all he needed in the bag, he let out a sharp whistle. Imperious bounded into the room, getting more excited upon seeing the bag on its master's back.

Percy knelt in front of the hellhound, cradling its head in both hands, "Hey, boy, I'm gonna need you to shadow travel for me, okay?" The dog deflated slightly at that, shadow traveling around the house was more than easy for the dog, but, if its master wanted it to shadow travel with him, that meant they were going far away, something that would tire the dog out immediately, "You remember Mom's apartment, right? We went there for Christmas last year?" His dog barked in recognition, "Good, lets go."

He flicked the lights of his room off and grabbed Imperious' collar. He was dragged off his feet as the dog ran into the shadows in the room. Percy felt the familiar, cold sensation of going through the shadows, remembering why he didn't shadow travel often. Then it was over. The son of Poseidon took in his surroundings, thankful to be in the living room of his old apartment.

The smell of food reached his nostrils, leading the man to the kitchen. He stood in the kitchen doorway, gazing at what was in front of him. His mother, Paul, and a five year old Estelle sat at the kitchen table, just about to start dinner. He made a mock offended sound, "You were going to eat without me, Mother, how could you?!"

Sally and Paul jumped at his voice, holding their hands over their hearts, while his sister let out an excited squeal and leapt from her seat to hug him, "Perthy!" She jumped at her brother and he caught her lifting her up in the air before holding her to his chest, where she gave him a toothy grin, showing the two empty spaces where her front teeth had been, "Look, look, I lotht my fron teeth!"

The man gave a false gasp of amazement, "I thee that, Printheth!" The girl laughed at him as he set her down and walked over to Sally, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Hey, Mom, sorry if I gave you a heart attack."

The woman smiled at her son, "It's fine, Percy, it'll take more than that to make me have one of those, you and all those quests made sure of that."

They shared a laugh, Percy going to Paul and giving him a hug, "Hey, Paul." The man reciprocated the gesture, wrapping his arms around his stepson.

"How are you, Percy, things going okay in Arcadia?" the men released each other, Percy stiffening before getting control of himself.

"So far things are fine, yeah." the son sat in an empty chair, rubbing his neck. The adults noticed his behavior and shared a glance. Sally leaned forward, "Percy... has something happened?"

"No, Mom, nothing's happened." Percy said, nodding at Estelle, who was vigorously petting Imperious' stomach. The other two understood his meaning: "Not in front of her."

The mood shifted, darkening slightly. The mother waved at her daughter, "Sweetie? Come on, it's time to eat, you can play with Rexxy later."

"Okay, Mommy." The girl pushed herself up and got back in her seat, looking at her brother, "Tho, why'd you come home, Perthy?"

The demigod forced a smile onto his face, "Well, Princess, Mommy's cooking is so good, I smelled it all the way in California and I just had to come get some!"

"Ith that it?" His sister scoffed, "You shouldn't make Reckthy all tired for thome food!" She reached her chubby hand out and slapped her brother on the arm.

The brother laughed at her, "Okay, okay, I'll think more before I come to see you next time!"

The dinner passed smoothly, Percy caught his family up on what he'd been doing, the play, what he was currently teaching his class, and how there was a colony of Trolls underneath the town. He felt at peace. However, it all came to an end, they'd all eaten their fill and Sally took Estelle to put her to sleep, Imperious following after them. The two men went to the living room and sat across from each other and waited for the woman to come back. She joined them soon after, sitting next to Paul, "Okay, Percy, what's the matter?"

The son sighed, feeling less like his twenty-four year old self and more like he was twelve again. He relayed the events of the day prior, how he volunteered to drive Claire to and from school, the hologram Annabeth, and, most importantly, the phone call with Nico. He fell back on the couch across from the parents, who looked confused.

Paul leaned forward, "Percy, what did Nico mean by "Go see Aphrodite?""

Seeing no way around saying it, Percy blurted out, "If he meant what I think he did then I'm in love with one of my students."

Paul slumped back in his chair, a look on his face like he had just been slapped. Percy couldn't blame him, he'd been wrestling with himself ever since he had seen the image of Annabeth around his student, struggling to keep pictures of Claire's smiling face from his mind. His mother spoke up, "Do you have a picture of this girl?"

The boy stood and retrieved his bag from where he had dropped it in the kitchen. He sat back down, unzipping the thing and reaching inside. He pulled out the Arcadia Oaks yearbook from the previous year and flicked through it until he found the page he was looking for. He set the book down on the coffee table, sliding it across its surface while pointing to the picture of Claire, "This was last year, she looks a bit different now, but that's her."

The parents leaned in to look at the picture. In the picture Claire didn't look much different than she did currently, the only differences being that she had yet to get the blue streak in her hair and she had a set of braces over her top row of teeth. Paul leaned back again, still too stunned to speak, while Sally kept her eyes on the photo, "Well, she's cute."

Percy, on instinct, almost found himself correcting her, 'Cute?' He thought, 'Don't you mean beautiful?' He thanked whichever god or goddess allowed him to stifle those words before he could speak them. What he said instead was, "What?"

His mother looked at him, "I said she's cute, I mean, I didn't think you liked braces, but-"

"Sh- she doesn't have the braces anymore, Mom!" Percy interrupted, blushing like a high schooler whose father forced him to say he loved him, "And besides she's fifteen, I can't-"

"So? Your father was well over fifteen hundred when we met." The mother slid the book back to her son, "Percy, remember who Poseidon was... Do you think he cared much about age? Or consent in some cases?"

"Mom, what are you-"

"I'm saying: I don't care how old this girl you fell in love with is." she smiled at him, "I'll support you, Percy."

The son of Poseidon looked at his mother, astonished. Why was she so accepting of this? Her relationship with Poseidon was completely different from Percy being in love with one of his students, "Mom, I don't want to feel like this, it- it's not right! I- I shouldn't feel for Claire like I do!"

Paul shook himself, finding the will to speak, "Then why do you?"

Percy froze, looking at his stepfather. Answers for that question flew through his head but all he could manage to get out was, "I... I don't know."

A sigh forced itself from the man's nose, "Look, Percy, I- I really don't like this, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, I don't like this!" the boy interrupted.

"I won't condemn you, but... I can't condone this either."

"Neither can I, that's why I came here: so I can go to Olympus and get Aphrodite to- to- to fix me!" the teacher gestured to himself, tears beginning to fall down his face.

"Sweetie, you say that like there's something wrong with you in the first place." Sally rounded the table, cupping her sons face and hugging him. Her son threw his arms around her, anguished sobs wracking his body.

"I shouldn't feel like this, Mom, I shouldn't feel this way for anyone anymore."

The mother shushed him, just holding her son close in silence. She sat with him for what felt like hours until his sobs turned to snores. She motioned to her husband to get a pillow, which he did along with a blanket, placing it at the end of the couch. Sally gently laid him down, placing his head on the pillow and draping the blanket over him. She and her husband retired to their room.

Once the door shut behind them, Sally leaned back against it, a pained look marring her features, "Oh, Paul... I'm worried about Percy."

"I know, Sally," the man lead her away from the door, "Hearing your son is in love with a minor isn't easy."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" the woman pulled away from the man, "Didn't you hear him? He feels like he shouldn't feel love anymore!" She sat on the bed, "He still feels responsible for what happened to Annabeth."

"Hey, come on," Paul stroked her arm, "It's been a long night, for everyone, let's just get some sleep, Percy will go see Aphrodite tomorrow and she'll sort everything out, everything will be okay."

Sally nodded at her husbands words and laid down. It was a long time before she fell asleep.

* * *

The smell of pancakes wafted through the apartment, a pleasant way to wake up. Percy, however, was woken up not by the smell of food, but by his sister jumping on his stomach. He clutched his stomach as Estelle giggled and hopped off of him and ran into kitchen. The demigod fell to the floor on all fours, still trying to get his breath back. Finally, he found the strength to stand and staggered to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Percy!" Sally said from the stove.

"Morning, Mom." the man sat across from Estelle, who smiled innocently. Percy narrowed his eyes at her as his mother set a plate in front of him. Blue pancakes. He smiled, remembering all the times she had made blue food for him. The man took his time eating, dreading going to Olympus. Sadly, all things must end as he took the final bite from his plate.

The son of Poseidon left the apartment, saying goodbye to his family and making sure Imperious knew to keep them safe. The walk to the Empire State Building seemed to push down on Percy while simultaneously lifting him up. He dreaded facing the goddess of love, but at the same time he couldn't wait.

He entered the lobby of the Empire State Building and went to the front desk, where the guard had his back turned. The man knocked on the counter, alerting the guard, but he still faced away from him, "I need to get to Olympus."

"Sorry, don't know what you're talkin' about." The guard stretched himself out in his chair.

Percy rolled his eyes, "I don't have time for your shit, Zelos."

The chair whirled around, revealing the face of the minor god. He paled at seeing Percy on the other side of the desk, "Oh! Sorry, Percy." He reached under the desk and produced a key card, "Here you go."

The man snatched the card from the deity's hand and went into the elevator, putting the card in and hitting the 600 button. He tapped his foot, trying to think of how to speak to Aphrodite. It was hard enough talking to her normally, but going to her talk about his love life had Percy worried, she always had a... special interest in him. The doors opened and he still had no idea how he was going to broach the subject. The demigod let out a sigh, stepping out of the elevator and onto the stone walkways of Olympus.

Finding Aphrodite's temple was easy enough, after she redesigned Olympus Annabeth had put up street signs to help mortal visitors find their way around. Now Percy stood in front of the heart-shaped doors of the goddess' home. Letting out a breath, he stepped forward and pushed the doors open.

The inside was empty. Percy had not known what to expect, but blank, light pink walls and flooring were not at the top of his list. In the middle of the room stood a lone figure, a woman dressed in a long white gown with straight blonde hair. Aphrodite. She turned to the former hero, a smile on her face, "Percy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She strode toward him as she spoke, her steps light and soundless, whether it was due to her bare feet or if it was due to the temple Percy didn't know.

The way she spoke made the demigod think she already knew the answer to her question, "I think you know why."

"I'm sorry, I don't," her smile only grew, "Why don't you tell me?"

Percy was convinced she knew why he was out. He clenched his fists, "I need your help."

The goddess stop in front of him, "With what, Percy?"

She touched her finger to his chin, lifting his gaze to her face. He smacked her hand away, but the move didn't change her expression at all, "You know why! I-"

"Love someone you think you shouldn't?" Aphrodite couldn't contain herself, her face giddy and a trill in her voice, "Are caught up in your feelings for a forbidden lover? Wish to partake of the forbidden fruit?"

Before she could get any semblance of an answer from him, the goddess let out a squeal of excitement, twirling away from the man, "Oh, the romance, the drama! It's all so tantalizing to watch!"

Percy looked at the woman in front of as though she were crazy, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, everyone thought your story was over when you left the camp!" the goddess explained, "Don't get me wrong, you running around, dipping your toes in the other pantheons' pools was interesting and all, but your Hephaestus TV ratings took a dive after Annabeth died, but now," she walked back up to him, "With this new love interest, the Trollhunter, and the growing threat of the changelings, your ratings have never been higher!"

While the goddess cheered, the demigod grew impatient, "I don't care about my "ratings," my life is my life, not some damn show! For years you've meddled with my love life and I'm sick of it! I don't want to be in love with Claire so just change me back!" Percy huffed in anger, glaring at the female deity, who looked at him with barely concealed humor.

Finally, she couldn't hold back, here bell-like laughter echoing in the empty room, "You think I did this to you?" Her laughter picked up to where she couldn't speak. She spoke again after she calmed down, "I haven't influenced your love life since you and the Athena girl got together, okay, I did a little with the Ramirez girl, but that wasn't anything, really." She noticed the look the man was giving her, prompting another giggle, "See, Percy you have what you mortals call a "type." You, for some reason, are very attracted to intelligent women, something about them just pulls you in! Think about it: The new oracle, Calypso, Annabeth, that news anchor you had a crush on in third grade, they all had one thing in common, that being they were all smart women, and this Claire," The love goddess looked him in the eyes, "Well, something in her reminds you of Annabeth, makes you think she's the smartest person you have ever met."

Percy backpedaled, putting distance between them. Aphrodite wasn't using her powers when she spoke, he couldn't sense any trace of charmspeak or any other magic at work. That meant the things he was feeling, love for Claire, that she was the smartest person he'd had the pleasure of meeting... They all stemmed from him. The demigod shook his head violently, "No, no! I don't want to feel like this, just- just, please," he fell to his knees, "Make these feelings go away."

"Oh, Percy," the mirth in Aphrodite's voice was gone, replaced with sympathy, as she knelt in front of him, "I can't do that, it's not in my power..."

The teacher looked up at her, "But you're the goddess of love, how is that not in your power?!"

"I can only plant seeds of love, I can't uproot them," the goddess cupped his cheek, "Especially not when they are as deep rooted as yours," she chuckled, "My, your feelings really snuck up on you this time."

She helped him stand as he asked another question, "Isn't there anything you can do?"

The look on her face changed after that question. Instead of a sympathetic face looking down at him, Percy stared into an expression of pure mischief. Aphrodite stepped back, "Well, if you really don't want to feel for her, Percy, I suppose," her hand drifted up her gown to her shoulder, lowering the strap of her gown, "I could help you forget about her."

The sudden change in the goddess' demeanor caused the demigod to stumble back in surprise. He expected to hit the doors to the temple but he felt nothing behind him, nevertheless keeping his eyes on the goddess, "N-no, thanks, Aphrodite, I think I'll just be leaving."

"What's the matter, Percy?" The deity kept advancing on him, taking a step forward for each he took back, "I know you're a virgin but there's no need to be nervous."

"That's not what I'm worried about." The man chanced a look behind him, trying to find the door. The doors had disappeared. Now it made sense to Percy, Aphrodite wouldn't let him leave just yet. He was trapped by love.

While his head was turned, Aphrodite spoke, her voice changing mid sentence, "Maybe you'd like me better if I looked like this."

Percy looked back at the goddess, but she was gone. In her place stood Claire. She was dressed in her everyday clothes but something about her was more... alluring to the man. He forced himself to keep backing up, but his face must have changed because the girl's smile widened, going from friendly to sultry. The demigod took a shaky breath, pointing a finger at the goddess in disguise, "Stop it right now, Aphrodite."

She quirked her head at him, "What do you mean, Mr. Jackson?" Claire-odite's hands went to her shoulders, peeling her jacket off her shoulders, "Have I been a bad girl?" The jacket slipped off her arms, evaporating before it hit the floor, "Do I need to be punished?"

The man's steps faltered, stopping for a second. Quickly shaking himself, he kept moving backwards, "Stop it, Aph-" He was cut off when the back of his knees hit something. Percy toppled back, his back hitting a sheet covered mattress. He had no time to wonder where it came from as the girl's hands went to her skirt, causing him to turn away and scramble off the bed. When he turned back she was gone, the skirt evaporating in the air.

Claire's voice echoed through the endless room, "Why do you keep calling me that, Mr. Jackson?" The man looked around, trying to find her, "Is it because you think I'm beautiful?"

"Ye-" Percy stopped himself, still trying to find the origin of the voice, "This isn't funny, Cl- Aphrodite!"

The demigod felt arms wrap around him from behind, "I'm not trying to be funny, Mr. Jackson." Percy jerked away from the hold, whirling around. What he saw made him freeze. Claire stood in front of him as she tossed her shirt to the side, where it disappeared. The room shifted, not that either of the two gave it much notice, warping into Percy's classroom in Arcadia. The girl advanced on him, prompting him to keep retreating but he found himself stopped by his desk. Claire stopped when she was on top of him, almost knocking him onto the desk, and snaked her arms onto his shoulders, "It's okay, Mr. Jackson," her hands slithered down his arms and grabbed his, guiding them behind her, "I'll help you get started."

Percy couldn't control himself, he allowed her to lead his hands up her back. She stopped him at the hook to her black bra and he unconsciously unhooked it. The clothing fell down her arms, disappearing when it reached her wrists and exposing her chest. The man closed his eyes, turning his head in an attempt to preserve her modesty. The feeling of her hand on his cheek made him open his eyes. He saw the door out of the room.

Everything about him protested, but the son of Poseidon extricated himself from the girl and moved to the door. He tried to open it but the handle didn't budge. Percy turned, letting his back hit the door and he slid to the floor. The man watched the girl saunter over to him as her leggings shimmered out of existence and straddled his lap, her arms going around his shoulders again. The demigod couldn't move as she leaned next to his ear, "I love you, Mr. Jackson."

Percy gave in, "I love you too, Claire."

"It's about time!" The girl stood, her figure morphing back into that of the goddess. The room shifted with her appearance and turned back into the light pink interior of the temple, revealing the door he leaned against was in fact the temple door. Aphrodite grabbed the man's hands and pulled him off the floor, "You are very stubborn with your feelings!"

"Wh-what?" He looked at her, dumbfounded and still dazed by what had happened.

"Oh, honey, I wasn't going to rape you," the goddess waved her hand, "This whole thing was to get you to open yourself up to your feelings! You were so dead set on not loving this girl, and Percy," She made him look her in the eyes, "That is a very dangerous thing. You denying your feelings could have driven you insane. Bottling your feelings inside is a very destructive thing, nothing good comes from it. Now, how do you feel?"

Percy, now with a clear mind, answered, "Lighter." And it was true, the experience took a weight off his chest, despite the panic he felt during it. Saying that he loved Claire to her face, even if it wasn't her, was uplifting.

"And how do you feel about Claire?"

A small smile crept onto his face, "I love her."

"And have you accepted that?"

The smile grew, "I have."

Aphrodite hugged him, "Fantastic." She extended her arms, holding the man at arm's length, "Let me show you something!" The goddess span around and threw her hands up. What looked like an Iris appeared, spanning the temple from one wall to the other, its edges tinged pink. In the image was Percy's classroom, "This is from four days ago," The goddess explained, zooming in by pinching her fingers and pulling them apart. The image settled on Claire, "Watch her."

The scene played out like Percy remembered, students answered questions, Percy threw candy at students and woke Steve up. Then came the part where Claire answered his question about Polyphemus, his voice coming through the screen, "That's the sort of answer I'm looking for, answered my question perfectly as well as the one I didn't even ask yet, thank you, Claire." The girl blushed as her remembered, looking down at her lap and brushing an imaginary strand of hair from her face. Them Jim asked his question, taking his attention away from her. She seemed... upset, slightly, at losing the spotlight from the teacher.

The goddess of love let out a small squeal, "Did you see how she reacted to your praise? It was so cute that I almost faded when I saw it!" She swiped her hand across the misty screen and the scene changed, "This is the day after that." She did as she had before, zooming in on the girl. This was a scene Percy did not recognize, Claire sat at a lunch table alone, the cat he had given her sitting on the table looking at her.

"What should I name you?" The teen's voice came through the mist. The feline meowed at her, innocent green eyes looking into hers, "What about Snowball, you like that , girl?" The cat turned away as though to say it didn't, "Hmm, that's a no, how about Butter Cup?" It turned its head the other way, denying the name, prompting a laugh from the girl, "You're a smart one, huh?"

The cat purred under the praise as Claire's friends walked up to the table, "Whatcha doin', Claire?" Darci asked as they sat down.

"Who cares what she's doing? She has a kitty!" Mary Wang said, reaching out to pet the cat. It swatted at her hand, making the Asian girl recoil with a yelp.

"Hey, that wasn't nice... Mumbles?" Claire watched the cat tilt its head like it was mulling the name over before turning its head again, "Dang it, thought I had it that time."

The black girl across from her chuckled at her, "Seriously, what are you doin' with a cat in school?"

"Mr. Jackson gave her to me, I'm trying to give her a name, but she doesn't seem to like anything I come up with... Muffin?" The cat sprang to its feet, back arched, tailed fluffed, and hissed. The girls jerked back in surprise, "Okay, not Muffin."

"So, Mr. Jackson just gave you a kitten, huh?" Darci asked, sipping her drink.

"Yeah," Claire said wistfully, a serene look spreading across her face, "He said his dog, Imperious, got out and he had to go him. When he got back to his house he found this little girl in his kitchen." she let out a sigh, "He's so kind, he could have taken her to the pound but he brought her here to look for a home, it kinda feels like he did that just so he could give her to me..."

The two girls laughed in the image as Aphrodite nudged Percy, "You did do that, subconsciously." He waved her off and went back to watching the scene unfold.

Claire's friends were still laughing, making her blush in embarrassment. Once they calmed down enough, Mary chuckled, "Geez, C-Bomb, you are crushing hard!"

"Yeah, girl, you need to get over him," Darci pointed a fork at her, "He's a teacher, there's no way he likes you! Plus, it's illegal!"

Claire hugged her sides, eyes down, "I know that, but," she cast a sideward look. Percy walked through the cafeteria on his way back to his class. He saw the three looking at him and waved. They waved back and Claire went back to staring at her new cat, "But it's nice to dream... Right, Mittens?"

The cat purred in response, seemingly agreeing with what she had and its new name. The girl laughed, scratching its chin, "You like that one, huh?"

The scene stopped, Aphrodite holding her hand up. She waved the hand, changing the scene once more. Percy had just pulled into his spot and Claire hopped out of his car, "Bye, Mr. Jackson, I'll see you later!" She jogged through the parking lot and up to her friends, "Hey, guys, what's up?"

They gave the girl astonished looks, Darci being the first to speak, "What's up with us? Girl, what's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

Mary made an indignant sound, "Are you kidding?" She gestured to the parking lot, "You just showed up to school _in Mr. Jackson's car_ , and you ask us what's up?"

Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Yeah, is there a problem with that?"

"You cannot be this thick in the head," Darci threw her hands up, "You can't just be driven to school by the teacher you have a massive crush on and think we'd act like it's normal!"

"Yeah, Claire, is something going on between you two?" Mary poked a finger in her chest.

"Wh-what?" Claire's face burned, "No, it's nothing like that, he's just driving me here and home for the play!"

Her friends crossed their arms. Mary leaned into Darci, "I think she's lying."

"Wait-"

"I think so too," The black girl interrupted. The two leaned closer to their friend, "What are you doing with him, Claire?"

"What do yo-"

"Are you dating?" Mary pried.

"No, why w-"

"Well, if you're not dating you must be engaged already!"

"What kind of-"

"She's denying it, they must be married already, Darce!"

"Why are yo-"

"Claire and Mr. Jackson, sittin' in a tree!"

"You are not-"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Oh, God..."

Claire buried her head in her hands, her face feeling like it was on fire, as her friends continued the song. Aphrodite stopped the scene, turning to Percy, "Do you need to see more?"

The man gazed at Claire's red face, thinking of how cute it was. He shook his head, "No."

The goddess giggled, "Are you sure? I've got plenty of footage from her bedroom."

"I'm fine, Aphrodite." The demigod looked at her, his face turning pink at the memory of what happened not thirty minutes beforehand.

"Alright, alright." The woman waved her hand through the fog, dispelling the screen, "So, what did those scenes teach you?"

The son of Poseidon sighed through his nose, "That Claire likes me too, or at least has a crush on me."

"Oh, she likes you alright, head over heels," Aphrodite said, "Now... What are you going to do with this information?"

That caused Percy to stall. He never thought of that. On one hand, he had finally accepted that he was in love with his student and wanted to be with her romantically. On the other hand, if he and Claire did get involved with each other and they were discovered, he didn't care what happened to him but Claire's life could be ruined. He imagined her walking through the halls of the school and down the streets of Arcadia, people staring at her, calling her things like "slut," and "whore." He didn't want to put her through that. More images filled his mind, this time happy ones. He imagined himself and Claire together in his house, laughing on the couch, his arm around her, the two of them calling each other pet names, looking into each other's eyes...

"I- I don't know."

Aphrodite huffed, rolling her eyes, "I guess that's the best I'll get." She gestured to the door, "You can leave now."

* * *

Going back into his mother's apartment, Percy didn't expect much, the family watching TV together, Estelle playing with her dolls, any normal family activity. What he saw reminded him that his family is anything but normal.

"Thaly, look, I'm Perthy!" Estelle shouted from Imperious' back. She wore armor made of used paper towel rolls, a cape, and wielded a sword that used to hold a roll of wrapping paper. She lightly knocked her feet into her canine steed's sides, "Let'th go, Jack Black, we have to save the pretty goddethh lady!" The dog reared up on its back paws, like a horse, causing the five year old to fall off of it onto her back with an "oof." She quickly scrambled back onto the dog, who proceeded to walk around the apartment as Percy's sister shouted orders.

On the couch, instead of his mother and stepfather, laid Thalia. She held a battery in her hand, electricity crackling from her fingers into it. She put the battery in the TV remote, casually waving to him, "Hey, Percy."

"Thalia? What are you doing here?" The man walked in, taking a seat in the chair Paul sat in the night before.

The girl shrugged as she flipped through the channels, "Eh, your mom and Paul had to go grocery shopping so they called me to watch Estelle and your dog."

"Okay, but why did they call you? Aren't you supposed to be with the Hunters?" Percy asked her.

"Oh, shit, we haven't talked in a while have we?" The girl sat up, looking her cousin in the eyes, "I left the Hunters, like, two years ago, I've lived downstairs for about half a year now."

Now that she said it, Percy did notice that she looked older than the last time he'd seen her, her face wasn't as round as he remembered and she was a little taller, and she got her hair cut so that it didn't reach her shoulders. The man shook his head, "Why'd you leave the Hunters?"

"I dunno, I got bored, I guess," She set the remote down, the channel on Comedy Central, and headed to the kitchen, "I got tired of always moving around. Guess I just wanted to have a place I could plant my feet for more than a night or two."

"Well, if you wanted to plant yourself, you could've asked your dad to turn you into a tree again." The two shared a laugh as she came back into the room, tossing him a Coke can, "So you moved in downstairs, huh?"

"Yep," Thalia popped the tab of her can, "Rent's pretty cheap, neighborhood's not too bad, and whenever I get tired of takeout I can pop up her for some of Sally's cooking." She took a long drink from he can, letting out a sigh when she pulled it away from her lips, "So what's up with you? Everything cool in California?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine now," Percy said, "I'm a teacher, if you can believe that."

"Hmm," the girl stared at him, before she let out a bark of laughter, "You're right, I can't believe it."

The man rolled his eyes at his friend, "Yeah, don't tell Paul, but I think my students like me more than his like him." They laughed together again, their voices going through the apartment and making Estelle yell at them that she was trying to kill a monster. Percy laid back, "It also turns out that there's a Troll city underneath Arcadia."

"Seriously?" the daughter of Zeus gave him an incredulous look, "Are they, like evil trolls who try to eat people or something?"

"No, I've met two of them, they seem harmless, but apparently one of my students was chosen by some amulet to be the "Trollhunter, guardian to both Troll and humankind alike," at least that's what I was told."

"You just can't keep away from this shit can you?" Thalia tipped her drink at him.

The son of Poseidon let out a mirthless laugh, "Seems like it," he sipped his drink, "The two Trolls I met flipped their shit when they heard my name, apparently," he stood, spreading his arms in front of the girl, "I'm famous."

"Pfft!" Thalia covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter, "Yeah, you're a real Orlando Bloom." Percy joined her in laughing as he sat down again. They stayed like they were for a while, laid out in the living room watchin television and occasionally talking.

"Man, I needed this," Percy took the last sip from his can, "These past few days have been a headache for me."

"Mm," Thalia picked her drink up, "Why's that?"

"Well, I found out I'm in love with one of my students."

The girl choked on her Coke. She set the can down, wiping her mouth and coughing, "What, seriously?!"

"Oh, yeah." The man told her about what had happened to him from two days before to his visit to Aphrodite.

Thalia sat with her eyes wide after her cousin finished his story, "Wow, that's, uh, that's heavy."

"Yeah."

"It's... cool? That Sally supports you on this, I mean now that I think about it she has a great point!"

"How so?"

"Well, think about it," Thalia sat forward, talking with her hands, "Our dads, and most of the Olympians, are the world's top fuck-hounds! They are constantly unfaithful to their wives, have babies faster than rabbits, and back in the day," she looked around, making sure Estelle wasn't in the room, and scooted forward, "Back in the day you couldn't stop our dads from raping anything that moved."

"I'd like to think they've calmed down since then." Percy nodded at his friend's point.

"My point is," she sat back, "Compared to how our godly parents were, you are the poster boy for purity."

"Maybe..." The two fell back into silence, the television and Estelle playing with Imperious being the only sounds in the apartment. A smirk grew on Thalia's face, "So... did you like what Aphrodite did?"

The man's face grew hot, remembering the images of the goddess as Claire. He cleared his throat, "I, uh, I don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh, gods, you did!" the daughter of Zeus let out a peel of laughter, "You dirty bastard, you were totally into that!"

"Into what?"

"The whole student/teacher detention thing, you pervert!" The girl gasped, "Pervy Percy!"

"Aw Hades, don't start."

"What's the matter, Pervy Percy, you don't like being called Pervy Percy?"

"Okay, you're gonna stop," Percy motioned down the hall, "Before Estelle hears you."

The little girl's voice called down the hall, "Pervy Percy, Pervy Percy!"

The man pointed at his friend as she laughed at him, "I'm gonna strangle you."

"Are you into that too?!" Thalia gasped between breathes. The man threw his hands up in defeat.

* * *

Returning to Arcadia was a load off to Percy. He loved his family to no end, but being back in the familiarity of the city he had called home for two years brought a calming feeling to him, especially when he woke up Monday morning and set back into his routine.

Percy moved through his house, showering, getting dressed, and was about to make a bowl of cereal until there was a knock at his door. He went to the door, opening it to reveal Claire on the front steps, "Morning, Mr. Jackson."

The man looked at the girl; When Aphrodite had changed into her she was beautiful, but seeing Claire, the real Claire, made him realize just how beautiful she was to him. He smiled at the girl, "A little early today aren't you, Claire?"

"Enrique has a doctors appointment this morning, so my parents left early," she explained, the teacher letting her inside the house, "and instead of sitting by myself in an empty house, I figured I'd come over here... Unless there's a problem with that?"

"No, no, you and your family are always welcome here." He led the girl to the kitchen, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet," she took a seat at the counter, "I was planning on getting something at school."

The man gagged at the mention of the school's breakfast, "You don't want to do that, I tried it last year once, when I was running late, worst food I've ever had. Tell you what," he grabbed the cereal box from the counter, putting it back in its cabinet and grabbing the eggs from the fridge, "Why don't I make us some eggs?"

"You don't have to do that, Mr. Jackson really."

"Too late, they're already in the pan." Percy cracked four eggs into a pan on the stove, "Besides, I think you deserve a breakfast that won't put you in a coma."

"Thank you, sir." Claire gave him smile, the teacher returning it.

The two sat in comfortable silence, the sounds of the eggs frying being the only disturbance. Finally, the eggs were done and the man grabbed two plates, sliding two eggs onto both and placed one in front of the girl, "Thanks."

"No problem," Percy sat across from her, "So did anything happen while I was away?"

Claire swallowed a bite of food, "Not really, there were some cars that looked like they were tossed around the street though."

"Tossed around the street?" the teacher raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there was a moving truck on its top," the teen took a bite of her food, "Not much else happened except- Oh, I almost forgot!" Percy watched as the girl got up from her seat, moving to her backpack. She rummaged around inside it before returning to the counter with a box, "You got a package on Saturday, says that it's from Blitz and Hearth?"

'Blitz and Hearth?' Percy took the package, chewing his food, 'What would they want to send me?' He moved his plate to the side, setting the package down. He made quick work of the packing tape and opened the box. A letter was the first thing he saw. He picked it up, reading aloud, "Dear Percy, We heard from Magnus that you became a teacher, congrats, by the way, and that you taught mythology. Hearth and I thought that these may come in handy if you ever talk about Norse mythology, you know, because they're magic! Anyway, stop by the Chase Space soon, last we saw of you, you were dressed like a hermit, I'll fit you for a suit, give you some proper clothes. Yours truly, Blitz and Hearth." 'P.S. These really are magic. They may not know how to use them, but still, don't let mortals touch them - Hearth.'

Percy set the letter aside, facedown so Claire couldn't see it, and looked in the box. Inside the box, in perfectly slotted spaces, were metal runestones. He picked one out of the box, it looked like a vertical line with a triangle on its right side, Thurisaz. Claire rounded the counter, put her plate and fork in the sink, and looked over his shoulder, "What are those, Mr. Jackson?"

"Runes," the teacher slid the metal chip back in the box, closing it, "Nordic runes, Blitz and Hearth are some friends of mine up in Brooklyn, probably should have went to see them while I was up there, they really like old Norse myths and Viking stories so I guess that's why they sent these."

"Are you going to cover runes in class?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on it, but I guess I can fit them in somewhere." Percy stood, grabbing the box, "Wait here while I go put these up, then we'll leave, okay?"

He went upstairs to his room and knelt next to his bed, sliding the box of runes under it, next to a long wooden case. The man stood and made his way back to the kitchen, but Claire was nowhere to be found. He called out, "Claire?" he walked to the next room, the living room, finding the teen holding a picture frame. She turned to look at him apologetically, "Sorry, Mr. Jackson, I guess I just got curious." The teacher walked up next to her as she looked back at the picture, "Who are these people, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind, Claire," Percy took the frame from the girl's hands, looking at it. The picture was one taken years ago, it showed Percy alongside the other councilors at Camp Half-Blood, all of them gathered under Thalia's tree, "These were some of my friends from a summer camp I used to go to back in New York," He pointed at Grover, whose legs were covered by a seated Clarisse, "This is Grover, he's one of my best friends, travels around a lot and stops in every now and then," he moved his finger to Thalia, Jason, and Piper, "These are my cousins, Thalia and Jason, the girl he has his arm around is his girlfriend Piper, though Thalia told me while I was in New York that they've gotten engaged," The son of Poseidon went through the rest of the people in the picture, sometimes stopping to tell a story about who he pointed to, all with a smile on his face.

He was about to set the picture down when Claire pointed at it, "Who's that?"

Percy looked to where she pointed. Claire's finger rested on the girl next to him in the picture, her arms around his neck, lips to his cheek. He felt a small pang in his chest, "That's Annabeth, she was my girlfriend at the time."

"Was?" Claire glanced at him as he set the frame down.

"She, uh, died six years ago." The man moved back to kitchen, his student following.

"Oh!" the teen covered her mouth, "I- I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson, I shouldn't have-"

The teacher cut her off, a sad smile on his face, "It's alright, Claire, it happened a long time ago and I'm past it now."

"Still, I shouldn't have asked..."

"And how would you have known not to ask?"

Percy turned to the girl, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes, "You had no way of knowing what happened to Annabeth," 'You don't even know a fifth of the story.' "You shouldn't have to apologize for asking a question, they are meant to be answered. You did nothing wrong, alright?"

"Yes, sir." Claire smiled softly.

"Great," the man returned her smile, standing straight, "Now, let's get going. Don't wanna be late do you?"

* * *

Percy walked through the halls of Arcadia Oaks High School, happy to see the white, cinderblock walls and happy to be leaving them. The final bell had rang not long ago and there was no practice for the play for the day, which meant that the teacher was free to leave and go home, he still had to grade the tests he gave out that day but he wasn't worried about them. He opened the door to the courtyard, intent on heading straight for the parking lot only to be stopped when he saw a crowd of students. It was a small crowd, allowing him to easily see Steve throwing punches at Jim.

The demigod began to run toward the fight. He made it halfway when he saw the blonde boy shove Claire aside. Jim whispered something he couldn't hear and uppercut Steve, causing him to fall back as a piece of one of his teeth fell out of mouth, "My tooth!" The boy shouted, getting up and glaring at the Trollhunter, "You're dead!"

Steve tried to hit the black haired boy again, but he ducked and rolled out of the way. The jock screwed his eyes shut in pain and frustration. He whirled around, throwing another fist. He felt it connect. The boy swung again.

Another hand grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind him. A foot swept his ankle out from under him, sending him chest first into the ground. Steve turned his head and opened his eyes. Percy sneered down at him, a red mark on his face from where he had been hit. His eyes seemed to glow as he looked at the boy and a nearby water fountain exploded, "Principal's office _now._ " Steve quickly picked himself off the ground, scampering off to the office. The teacher turned to Claire, "You okay?" She nodded, "Good. Call your parents, let them know you'll be home a bit late, it shouldn't be too long though. And Jim," He pointed at the boy who was trying to sneak away. The man smirked at him, "Nice swing."

Jim sputtered as Percy walked away, Claire not far behind on her phone. The two made their way through the halls, headed to the principal's office, "No, Mamá, I won't be too late, Mr. Jackson says it will only be fifteen to thirty minutes. Okay, bye, love you too." The girl hung up, slipping the phone into her pocket. She found her eyes wandering toward the teacher, "Was it necessary to do that to Steve?"

He shrugged, "Probably not," the man looked at her, "But he put the wellbeing of my other students on the line, and I take your safety very seriously." Percy saw his student's cheeks turn a light shade of pink, prompting a small smile from him. They arrived at the principal's office, Palchuk sitting outside in the few chairs that lined the wall, his head down.

Percy coughed, catching the boy's attention. He jerked his head toward the office and the younger male let out a dejected sigh, going through the door. The teacher gestured to the chairs as he followed, "Wait out here, Claire, I should be back shortly."

Claire took a seat next to the door, folding her hands in her lap. She bounced her leg in an attempt to distract herself from the deafening silence of the hallway. Her thoughts began to wonder. At first she thought of the play, mulling over her worry about her performance. She assured herself that she would be fine, having faith in her acting skills, but her mind went to her castmates'. She had seen most of them act in the previous year's performance of Grease, so she found comfort in knowing their capabilities. The one she was most worried about was Jim. He hadn't shown any interest in the play until she gave him the flier, despite Mr. Jackson bringing it up at the end of each of his classes. She had no denial that the speech he gave during auditions was great, but she felt like something would keep him from performing. Mr. Jackson seemed at least glad that the boy had auditioned, even going as far to offer to help him with his swordplay.

Mr. Jackson. Claire's mind wandered, losing herself in thoughts of her teacher. She remembered the day he brought in a replica set of ancient Greek armor and sword to class, to show them an example of what the Greek soldiers in Troy used during their siege. Memories of how he looked with the armor on over his clothes, sword in hand, flooded her mind, strong, confident. He reminded her of one of the soldiers at the Battle of Thermopylae, strong, confident, ready to go to battle to defend what he held dear. She thought about what he would look like when he trained Jim. Would he wear the same armor? Or would he wear some sort of gym clothes? Maybe he would be shirtless. Claire set her head in her hand, an absent smile on her lightly blushing face. A wistful sigh passed her lips, wondering what it would be like to feel her teacher's arms around her. She imagined waking up next to him, her head on his chest with one of his arms around her. She would wake him with a kiss and they would say they loved each other, then she would climb on top of him and-

"Claire?"

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. Mr. Jackson stood in front of her, waving his hand in front of her face. She felt her ears burn at the sight of him, what she had just imagined still fresh in her mind, "Y-yes, Mr. Jackson?"

"The meeting's over," the teacher jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "We should head out, get you home, yeah?"

"Yeah," Claire stood quickly, "Sorry, I was a bit... lost in my own head."

"Don't worry about it," the man waved off her apology, "I used to daydream all the time, and at least you were out of class when you did."

Claire chuckled at that, but it died when she remembered what she dreamed about, 'If you only knew, Mr. Jackson...'


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Would you look at that, I managed to update a story within the same year I published it! I planned on updating on Christmas, but I realized that people would probably be too busy celebrating to notice it, and the day after was my birthday so I didn't feel like working that day. Nevertheless, it's time to go over the reviews!

Stormwreckin: I've never seen Trollhunters before so I was hesitant to start reading this but I have to say I've very pleased so far. It is definitely entertaining and I am enjoying how you're developing it. I always like stories with longer chapters and I'm glad to see that's what this is. Percy's transformation is believable and I like how you are incorporating all the other smaller aspects of the riordanverse into it. Plus I find that I am actually really liking the pairing you are going with. The secret taboo nature of it is very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing how you evolve the relationship between Percy and Claire. Keep up the good work.

A: Well, I'm glad you're liking it as much as you are, but I would recommend watching Trollhunters first, and 3 Below as I plan on inserting that in here since it happens in tandem with the third season. I think I did an okay job doing some Plaire development (writing Plaire just made me gag) in this chapter, but I feel that as this chapter goes on the quality sort of degraded, you'll be able to tell as you read it.

Guest: You know, I'm okay with this as it's fiction and a crossover. God knows there's enough manga about it. I want to see where this goes, just no lemons to soon. Let it simmer, I think. Eh, my opinion doesn't matter.

A: I… there might be one of those next chapter, I still have to see where that goes, but if there isn't one next chapter just know there will be one later on.

HaywireEagle: Chap 2 - Poor Jim. Loved the original pairing more though. Chap 3 - Actually... Aphrodite can and did do that quite often. Even to other gods.

A: Chap 2 - I liked Jim and Claire too, but I wanted to have a bit of drama here and something about the Teacher/Student relationship drew me in. Chap 3 - Are you defining the rules of my fictional reality that is based on the amalgamation of two other fictional realities?

KittyKatt Uzumaki: This is awesome! The pairing seems like quite an awkward one to work around but looks like it'll turn out brilliantly

A: Yeah, I felt the awkwardness when writing some parts of this chapter, don't worry I'll try to do better next time.

Guest (2): Oh MY GOSH! THIS IS SO GOOD! When I read that bit when Claire said good morning Mr Jackson, I was like 'makes super duper amazed face while thinking that this story is soo good!" I lovvveeee that Percy is a teacher! I can't even express how amazing your story is! Its sooo marvellous! All I know how to type is 'this is amazing' cause this story has blown my mind! PLEASEEEE CONTINUE THIS! IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER READ!

A: Did... did you really like it that much?

Scribble01: I like this story. I like the idea of it- of Percy being a teacher of mythology, of him being aware of the Jim and the trolls and doing what he can to help without the humans knowing who he is, and of the controversial pairing of Claire and Percy. You've done a stand-up job of creating your world and creating the relationships of your characters. This is an interesting story and I'd love to read more. Please update soon.

A: I'm beginning to feel the weight of everyone's expectations and it's hurting my back.

* * *

"Keep your knees bent, Jim, feet apart." Mr. Jackson walked behind his student, kicking his feet into the right position. The boy adjusted himself, turning to the teacher, only to have him snap, "Never take your eyes off your opponent, they can and will take advantage of your distraction!"

"R-right!" Jim looked back at the straw dummy the man had set up in the back yard of his home, gripping the handle of the wooden training sword tighter.

"Relax your shoulders and don't hold your sword too tight, it may be important to be alert, but being too stiff will slow your movements and gripping your sword too tight will take strength away from the blow, and exhaust you faster." Mr. Jackson circled Jim, eyeing his stance like a shark. He nodded, finding his pose satisfactory, "Still a bit stiff, but you're doing well for your first session. Now, I want you to attack the dummy, show me what you can do so I know what to address."

"Yes sir!" Jim took a breath, taking an experimental swing in the air. The wooden blade was quite a bit different from Daylight, but Jim expected that, he would try what Mr. Jackson taught him with his sword later. He rushed the mannequin, translating his skills with a kitchen knife into swordplay.

His teacher stood back, eyeing his performance. Seeing all he needed, he called out, "Enough!" The teen stopped striking the dummy, thankful for the break.

He grinned, "How, uh, how was that, Mr. Jackson?"

"Sloppy," The man stepped forward, "If this were a real person they would have been able to disarm you before you even made your first swing." He saw Jim's face fall, "However," the boy looked at him, "I see potential, and I intend to bring it to the surface!"

Jim watched Mr. Jackson pick up his own wooden sword and take a stance, "Now, try and match my movements." His teacher began to move his sword through the air, slashing invisible enemies. After a few seconds of staring, Jim began to imitate the man's movements, to mixed results. The two kept doing the same exercise for hours on end until the sun began to set.

"That's enough for today." Mr. Jackson stopped his movements, standing straight.

Jim thanked whatever god existed that training was over, his muscles ached from the nonstop drill. He looked at his teacher. He hadn't even broken a sweat, 'Of course he hasn't, he's probably done this sort of thing for years!' He followed the man into his house.

"I can see improvement already, Jim." Mr. Jackson tossed the boy a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Really, so soon?" Jim caught the water, taking the cap off and taking a large sip from it.

"Of course," The man lead him to the door, "You don't seem as uncomfortable as you were when we first started, much more relaxed."

"Thanks, Mr. Jackson," he stepped through the front door, "You going out of your way to teach me this... it means a lot."

The teacher quirked his head at him, leaning against the doorframe, "Everything alright, Jim?"

'Well, I have to fight a Troll to the death a few days from now, other than that...' The teen put on a smile, "No, just a lot on my plate, I guess."

"Mm," Mr. Jackson took a drink from his water bottle, "What is it Strickler calls you again? Young Atlas?"

Jim gave a short laugh, "Yeah, he says that I'm "Bearing the weight of the world on my shoulders.""

"Well, that's dumb," it was the teacher's turn to laugh, "Atlas doesn't hold the Earth, he holds the sky!"

"Huh?" Jim gave his teacher a strange look, "But isn't the sky made of air? How could it be heavy?"

"You've never held the sky." Mr. Jackson smirked at him, "I'd say you're more like Heracles, you're taking on labor after labor, and though they may be daunting, you always seem to pull through just fine."

"You don't know the half of it, sir." The boy chuckled.

"You'd be surprised at what I know, Jim," the man clapped his student's shoulder, "Do you need a ride home?"

"No thanks, I'm fine walking." The teen began walking down the concrete path, turning to wave, "See you on the field trip tomorrow, Mr. Jackson."

Seeing the older male wave back, he turned back around. Mr. Jackson's words echoed in his head, "You'd be surprised at what I know, Jim."

'Why does that sound so ominous?'

* * *

"I know that stories lead you to believe that history was full of swords, sorcery and deception, but I assure you the truth is much more intriguing," Miss Nomura spoke from the top of the museum steps, "And what better place to start than Renaissance pottery?!"

The students, along with Percy, deflated. It was clear that they held no interest in the riveting world of hardened clay. The demigod spoke up, "Ms. Nomura, don't you think it would be better for the students to wander on their own? Go where they want, learn what the want?"

"I second that, Mr. Jackson," Strickler voiced his support, "And while the students peruse the museum we can catch up, Ms. Nomura, hmm?" The woman seemed to want to protest, but relented in the end, letting the children go through the doors on their own.

Percy wandered the expansive rooms of the museum, taking in the exhibits and correcting them in his head. He stood in front of a suit of armor with scorch marks staining the cuirass. The placard said that it was taken off a body that had been in a fire, but Percy leaned in closer, 'These scorch marks aren't from a fire, whoever wore this armor must have pissed off a god of thunder. There aren't any dents in it, that rules out Thor...' Before he could come to a conclusion on who killed the knight, Percy overheard a nearby conversation.

"Hey, thorry if you got caught up in that tiff between Lake and I," The teacher turned to see Steve talking to Claire, "I just wanted to let you know that since joining the play, I think there's another side of me that really wants to come out."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Apology not accepted," Steve stepped back as though she had hit him, "Mr. Jackson told me the only reason you're even in the play is because it's your punishment for starting the fight in the first place." The boy's mouth flapped open and closed like a fish struggling for breath, "Also, you punched my favorite teacher in the face, did you really think I'd forgive you so easily?"

Steve stood back, rubbing his neck and trying to stutter out a reply. Finally he gave up and stormed off, muttering about "cave ladies." Percy grinned and made his way to the girl, "Well, it seems you put on a show whether you're on stage or not."

Claire jumped at the sound of his voice, rounding on the man with a red face. She looked down bashfully, tucking an imaginary hair behind her ear, "You- you heard that, huh?"

"Didn't really seem like you were trying not to be heard," Percy chuckled, leaning against the railing and looking at the dress she had been admiring, "Makes you wish we had the budget for things like that, doesn't it?"

The teen shook her head, the red fading from her face, "Yeah, but with the one we _do_ have..."

"Don't worry about it, Claire," The teacher told her, "I'm sure you'll be beautiful no matter what costume you're given, be it an Elizabethan dress or dollar store pajamas."

Claire's face burned red again, the blush reaching her ears, "Th-thank you, Mr. Jackson."

"Don't mention it," Percy pushed off the railing, "Now, how's about we go look at what else there is?"

The girl's face lit up, "Sure! Lead the way!"

The man smiled and the two walked past a crowd of kids surrounding Eli. They walked through the museum, Percy stopping every now and then to tell a story about a particular exhibit. Through their walk, a crowd of students began to follow the teacher after overhearing his stories, making him look like a tour guide. Claire watched him from the front of the crowd with great interest until a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"C-Bomb, what are you doing?" Mary Wang asked as she pulled her friend out of the pack of people to stand with her and Darci.

"What are you talking about?" Claire brushed the Asian girl's hand off.

"We mean what are you doing following Mr. Jackson around like a lost puppy?" Darci elaborated.

"I _was_ having fun, listening to him tell stories about the exhibits with all the others."

"Really?" The black girl crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you think we didn't see the two of you go off on your own?"

"That doesn't mean anythi-"

"Did you even see that Jim tried to talk to you?"

"No, but what does that have to-"

"Girl, you are so blind! There are boys who have thrown themselves at you, but you're to caught up making goo goo eyes at a teacher!"

Really? Were there boys who had done that? Claire shook her head, "What are you getting at?"

"C-Bomb, you're just setting yourself up for heartbreak," Mary grabbed her shoulders, "He's a teacher! He's nine years older than you! There's no way he will be into you!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Claire pushed her friend away, glaring at her and Darci, "Of course I know he won't like me back, why do you think I spend so much time around him?! Because it makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, he likes me too! Just- just let me have this until I can't have it anymore! Please..."

Neither of her friends said anything as Claire stomped away.

* * *

"Is something wrong, Claire?" Percy asked as he turned a corner in his car. The car had been silent since they had gotten in. Normally, the quiet wouldn't have bothered him, but something about Claire's demeanor seemed off.

"Yeah, Mr. Jackson, everything's fine, it's just that back at the museum..." The girl sighed heavily. She took a breath to compose herself, "Okay, so there's this boy I like, right?" The teacher nodded, prompting her to continue, "Well, I really like him, but... we can't be together." Claire's voice seemed to shake as she spoke, "Despite that, I try to spend as much time with him as I can before we're separated. Back at the museum Darci and Mary pulled me out of the group that formed around us. They tried to get me to stop being around him, saying that I would only end up hurting myself in the end." Her voice cracked, "I know that they're right, but I just don't care, I just wish we could be together..."

Percy felt a pit in his stomach, 'Gods, should I... No, now's not the time.' The man began to pull over, "Okay, Claire, look at me," He stopped the car and turned to the girl. She looked back at him, her eyes turning red and glistening trails from her tears went down her cheeks. He hated seeing her like this, "You are a beautiful, young woman, you are one of the smartest people I have had the pleasure of meeting," He clasped one of her hands between his, "Whatever you want, you don't stop until you get it, whether it be the role of Juliet, the best grades, whatever. You can have whoever you want in the world, and if you really like this guy you've told me about, don't give up on him. If you can't be together now I know you will find a way to be with him, and I know I've said this a lot recently but, don't listen to what other people want for you, all that matters is what _you_ want for you." Claire sniffed, giving him a small smile as she wiped cheeks with her free hand, "And if this guy doesn't like you back, then he is missing out on one of the most wonderful women on Earth."

The girl let out a shaky laugh, "Thank you, Mr. Jackson, you don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that!" She leaned over the console, wrapping her arms around his chest.

Percy smiled, returning the hug, "Don't worry about it, Claire." The two separated, "Now, your parents don't get home for a few more hours right?"

"Yeah, why?" Claire asked as the man pulled back into the road.

"Well, I was thinking," the demigod turned onto their street, "That I could help you by making you some of my Mom's cookies before we head back for rehearsal, granted they won't be as good as hers but I think I do a pretty good imitation," he looked at the girl as he pulled into his driveway, "Would you like that?"

Claire's face brightened through her red eyes and tear stains, "Yeah, I'd really like that."

* * *

Percy watched Claire as she stood beside Steve onstage. Her eyes were downcast, but he knew that it wasn't because of earlier, he had seen to getting her mind off that himself. No, Percy deduced that her current demeanor was due to sharing the stage with the boy and not getting an inch of the spotlight.

'With a head as big as his I'm surprised there's room for anything else up there.' The man thought, covering his mouth to hide his smirk. The motion seemed to attract Claire's attention, because she turned her gaze from the floor to him. He gave her a reassuring smile and began to mouth Romeo's lines.

The girl smiled, her eyes lighting up, "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep." She rested a hand over her heart, extending her hand toward Percy, "The more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite..."

Percy grinned at her performance as she continued. He watched her, she never turned to Steve unless necessary, keeping her eyes on him. After a while, Miss Janeth called an end to the rehearsal, calling everyone to gather onstage.

"Alright, everyone," Miss Janeth said, standing and making her way in front of the stage, "So far you all have been performing as anticipated, I just have a few pointers," She pointed at Eli, "Mr. Pepperjack, you are too excited, tone down your enthusiasm, you are not playing Mercutio." The boy nodded, a small bit of disappointment on his face. The teacher went through the rest of the cast, telling them what they needed to improve their act, until she got to Claire, "Ms. Nuñez, you seem to have eye contact with the audience down, however I feel you should look around the stage more."

Claire rubbed her neck, a bashful smile on her face. Miss Janeth spoke again, "With that out of the way, I have one last topic to address," Percy raised a brow at that, he didn't think they had anything left to talk about, "Due to his continued absence, Mr. Lake is being demoted to the role of Romeo's understudy, Mr. Palchuk, you now have the lead role," The boy grinned devilishly at her words, stopping when she glared at him, "Do. Not. Disappoint me. Dismissed!"

"Miss Janeth," Percy approached the woman as the students left the stage, "I think we should discuss you decision, regarding Jim."

"There is nothing to discuss, Mr. Jackson," the math teacher turned on him, contained rage in her voice, "Mr. Lake has consistently skipped practice and shows no sign of stopping, had he made an appearance tonight I would have reconsidered, alas, he is nowhere to be found!"

The man spread his arms, grabbing for anything that could help the boy's case, "But surely you remember what it was like to be a teenager!" The woman moved and he followed, "It's a hellacious time in anybody's life! Jim is probably going through a rough patch at the moment, so please... give him one last chance."

Miss Janeth shouldered her bag, giving the demigod a look of contempt. He looked back with a supplicating expression, "Very well, Mr. Jackson, should James Lake Jr. make an appearance at the next rehearsal I will _think_ about reinstating him as Romeo."

Percy let out a sigh, "Thank you, Miss Janeth, I'll make sure that he shows up next time."

The female teacher huffed and marched out of the auditorium. The man sighed again, rubbing his neck and whispering, "Whatever you're doing better be life threatening, Jim."

"Mr. Jackson!" Percy turned to see Claire scrambling around the curtain and down the steps of the stage. She made a beeline toward him, stumbling when she stopped. The girl began to try to stutter out a sentence, prompting the man to put a hand on her shoulder, "Claire, Claire, calm down! What's wrong?"

The teen stopped herself and took a breath, similar to how she did before a performance. She lifted her hand, a piece of paper pinned between her fingers, "Jim left this in my backpack," The teacher took the paper, "I think he might be in trouble!"

Percy poured over the letter, taking in every word Jim had written, 'Me and my big mouth.'

* * *

Jim faced Draal, panting. Sweat poured down his face, causing him to hurriedly wipe it away. When he lowered his arm he saw the blue troll barreling toward him. He let out a gasp as the troll rolled toward him. Jim leapt out of the way, barely dodging the attack. Mr. Jackson's words floated through his head as he picked himself off the ground, "Never take your eyes off your opponent, they can and will take advantage of your distraction!"

"Mr. Jackson was right." Jim huffed. Draal unrolled himself and charged the boy. His mind went into overdrive. He tried to remember what Mr. Jackson had taught him but he couldn't think straight. Before he knew it, Draal was on him, fist raised.

Time seemed to slow down for Jim. He could see all the detail in Draal's skin as the stone fist hit him in the chest. He took in everything around him as he was pitched through the air. The platforms in the center of the Hero's Forge shifted and moved, axes sung in and out of the walls and Jim could see Toby struggling against Aargh to help him.

The sight of his friend's desperate face jarred Jim back into focus. Time returned to normal and he flipped in the air, clumsily landing on his feet, almost tripping over himself. He looked at Draal and readied Daylight. Jim took a deep breath and prepared himself for the trolls next attack. Draal let out a menacing shout and barreled toward the Trollhunter.

This time Jim was ready. He sidestepped the charge, extending his leg to trip the troll. Draal staggered but managed to keep his balance. Jim whirled around on him, smacking the flat of his blade against his chest, pushing him back further. The troll went on the defensive, taken aback by this change in the human. The boy pressed his advantage, striking at Draal's arms with each hit removing pebble sized rocks from them. Jim feinted another attack with his sword. Draal moved to block but realized to late what the boys plan was.

Jim swung his foot between the troll's legs, stunning him and making him fall to his knees with a wheezing growl. The boy took this time to rush behind Draal and into his blindspot. The son of Kanjigar rose with a wince, looking for the pest who put him on his knees, only to see nothing. He began to spin around, searching for the boy until he felt a weight on his back.

Jim clung to the sapphire spires on Draal's back as he thrashed about, trying to shake him. The boy kept leaning back and forth, using his weight to keep the troll off balance. Draal tried to grab the boy but he kept leaning out of his grasping throwing him off balance even more. Jim looked behind him. They were getting closer to the edge of the arena.

"You can't be the Trollhunter!" Draal grunted, "Your just a human, a boy!" He almost grabbed Jim, "I trained my entire life to take my father's place, it is my right!"

Jim checked again. They were at the edge, "I'm sorry, but," the boy flipped himself over Draal's head. He kicked his foot into the troll's face, using it as a springboard.

Draal staggered back, trying to find a foothold, only for none to be there. He fell backwards into the pit.

Jim landed on his feet, facing the abyss, "The amulet chose _me_."

The crowd cheered as he made his way to the edge of the arena. Jim looked into the darkness. Draal latched himself to the side with one hand. The crowd's chants of "Finish the fight," pounded Jim's ears, overwhelming the sound of his pulse. He looked at Draal, stared into his eyes. He could see the fear and despair clawing away inside him. The boy turned to the crowd. They were all smiling, chanting for him to kill their friend, the son of their hero. He looked back at the defeated troll. Draal had closed his eyes, a show of silent, sorrowful acceptance. Jim summoned Daylight. He raised it above his head. He let out a shout.

Jim drove the blade into the floor of the arena and held his hand out to Draal. The troll opened his eyes when he didn't feel the bite of Daylight. He stared at the hand in bewilderment before turning to the Trollhunter, "The fight is to the death..."

The boy gave him a sympathetic smile, "That's not what it says in my rulebook."

The troll glanced between the human and his hand. Begrudgingly he took the hand and let Jim pull him up. He looked at his savior with a forlorn expression, "You should have killed me."

"If you wanted to die you would have let go." Jim said as he turned and walked to the center of the Hero's Forge amid a chorus of boos, preparing to give a speech.

* * *

Jim entered Mr. Jackson's class with a small spring in his step. Claire had come up to _him_ to talk this time and he didn't fumble his words for once! After everything that had happened the night before things were starting to look up for the boy.

"Jim, I need to talk to you."

And with that everything ground to a halt. Jim looked to the front of the class. Mr. Jackson looked at him with a serious expression. A pit opened in the boy's stomach and everything positive he had been feeling fell into it.

Letting out a sigh, Jim shrugged off his bag and approached the man, "What's up, Mr. Jackson?"

"Look, Jim, I'm not going to ask why you missed practice yesterday, I trust that it couldn't be helped," Jim flinched at the teacher's words, "I'm just going to ask that you show up from now on." The boy moved to speak but Mr. Jackson held up his hand, "Ms. Janeth demoted you to Romeo's understudy."

"Wait, what?!" Jim's eyes widened, "Well, who's Romeo then?"

The teacher sighed through his nose, "Steve."

"Steve?!" The boy backed away from the desk, running his hands through his hair, "But he's so... _Steve_!"

"I know, Jim, Believe me," Mr. Jackson motioned the boy back to the desk, "Look I managed to convince Janeth to consider reinstating you as Romeo, but only on the condition that you show up at the next rehearsal and cool it with missing practice, do you think you can do that?"

Jim gave his teacher a small grin, "Yeah, I think I can do that, and I'm..." he let his shoulders slump, "I'm sorry that I've flaked so often in the past, I've been dealing with some pretty heavy stuff these past few months and I-"

"Jim, I understand," The man placed a hand on the students shoulder, "You have a lot on your plate, maybe too much, I've been there a lot too and trust me everything will turn out fine in the end."

"Heh, thank you, sir." Jim shook the teachers hand and went back to his seat as the bell rang.

Percy walked to the center of the board at the front of the room, "Alright, class, since we had our test on Greek mythology last Friday I believe it's time we shift focus to another part of the world, one that's just a stone's throw away from Greece," he reached up and grabbed the edge of a map and pulled it down, "Ladies and gentlemen, today we go," He pointed to a spot on the map, "to Rome!"

A hand rose among the students. Percy motioned toward them, "Yes, Eli?"

"But aren't a lot of the stories from Roman mythology the same as Greek mythology?" the bespectacled boy lowered his hand.

"Ah, you're halfway right, Eli!" The demigod turned around and raised the map. He grabbed a blue marker and began writing, "See the Romans had been worshipping their gods long before they had any contact with the Greeks and when they did make contact, they didn't just steal and rename their gods, they conflated them with their own, something that blurred the lines between them until we today typically accept that they are just the same."

Percy moved away from what he had written, two name: Athena and Minerva, "You should remember Athena from past lessons, goddess of wisdom, crafts and war. Minerva is her Roman counter part, but the Roman's changed something. Minerva is just the goddess of wisdom and crafts, you see, when Athena was translated into a Roman goddess they neglected her warrior aspect and essentially made her the goddess of educated clay-spinners."

"But how is that fair?" Claire raised her hand, "How can they just take away something that made Athena who she was?"

"That's a good question, Claire, and I have an answer!" The man turned back to the board, "Keep what I said earlier in mind, the Romans had been worshipping their gods long before they met the Greeks, so when they met them and saw the similarities between their Minerva and the Greeks' Athena, they naturally conflated the two, but Minerva was never a war goddess so they didn't translate Athena's war aspect to her. Combine that with the fact that the Romans already had a very notable war goddess in Bellona, and I believe that they didn't see any necessity to change Minerva into a war goddess to make her better fit the Greeks' idea of Athena."

This answer seemed to satisfy the girl, as she relaxed into her chair. Percy gave her a small smile before moving on with that days lecture.

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Jackson?" Claire asked from the passenger seat of her teacher's car, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead, Claire." The man glanced at her.

"You remember that letter Jim left in my bag right?" She dug through her bag, searching for it.

"As if I could forget it."

"I know right? Anyway, I convinced him to come over to my house tonight, he thinks that I'm going to be helping him with his math homework but-"

"But you plan on springing the letter on him when he gets there." Mr. Jackson finished her sentence.

"Yeah, and I was wondering if, well," Claire tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her face turning a light shade of pink as she looked down, "If you'd come over and talk to him with me?"

"Hmm..." The girl looked back at the man driving. His face was screwed into a thoughtful expression, the one that she thought was cute where he'd scrunch his face ever so slightly, his brow would furrow just a bit and the corners of his lips wou-

Claire shook her head, 'Ugh, focus Nuñez!' Thankfully, she recollected herself in time to hear the man speak.

"Are you sure that you want me there, Claire?" He gave he a brief glance, "I'm certain that Jim left you that letter thinking you'd be the only one to read it, if he found out you showed me it might make him trust you less."

"Maybe, but you seem to understand a lot of what he's going through and we could probably help him more if with talk to him together."

"I don't know..."

The girl put her hands together in a pleading gesture, "Please, Mr. Jackson!"

The teacher looked at her briefly, catching her eyes. He let out a sigh, "If you really want me there, I'll talk to Jim with you."

"Yes!" the girl pumped her fist, "Thank you, Mr. Jackson, you're awesome!"

Her crush gave her a smile, "Don't mention it, Claire."

* * *

Percy sat with Claire on her couch, both waiting for Jim to arrive. The teacher felt slightly awkward in his position, his earlier reservation still present. He decided to try to get over them.

"So, is everything going alright with your parents?"

"Hmm?" Claire seemed to have been broken from her thoughts, "Oh, yeah, we haven't blown up at each other in a while, you know, since the time in the driveway."

"That's good to hear," Percy smiled at the girl, "And they haven't brought up you dropping the play, either?"

"Nope, I've managed to dodge that bullet for now," she returned his smile, "What about you? You never told me what happened with your stepdad when you went to New York."

"Oh, he's fine, he had an allergic reaction to something he ate. Luckily they got to him before anything actually happened so he was fine to go home by the time I left."

"Well, that's great, I'm glad he's okay." Claire shifted uncomfortably, "Did, um, anything else happen while you were there?"

Percy froze. Memories of his experience with Aphrodite coming to the surface, turning his face a light shade of pink. He looked at the girl next to him. She looked back at him with her beautiful, rich brown eyes, eyes that he would have lost himself in if he didn't begin to take in the rest of her appearance. Her slim waist that he just wanted to wrap his arm around, her deep black hair with its single blue streak, he wondered what it would feel like to run his hand through it.

"Mr. Jackson?"

"Huh?" Percy snapped out of his musings. Taking a quick glance at his surroundings, he remembered where he was and he felt his face get hotter. He let out a nervous laugh, "Sorry, Claire, I was just trying to remember everything, um..." The demigod patted his knees, "Not much happened, really, but I did get to see my cousin, Thalia, after what felt like forever, so that was great. I think the two of you would get along."

"Oh?" he had grabbed the girl's attention, "Why's that?"

"Well, you have the same taste in music, for starters," the man pointed at her Papa Skull shirt, "She's really into punk and emo music and she pulled me into it years ago." Percy's shoulders relaxed as he leaned back on the couch, "Years ago she made me go with her to a Mayday Parade concert and that was pretty fun."

"I love Mayday Parade!" Claire said excitedly, "What other bands does she like?"

"Heh, where do I start?" The teacher out his head back, looking at the ceiling, "She was really into Hinder before Austin Winkler left, I'm in the same boat on that, um... She likes Rise Against quite a bit, Panic at the Disco, but she liked Panic before it was just Brendon Urie. She likes a whole lot more, but when I talked to her last she said that she was really into A Day to Remember and after listening to them, I can't blame her."

Claire giggled at her teacher, "Well, tell your cousin she has great tastes. So what else makes you think we'd get along?"

"You've heard of "opposites attract," right?" Percy looked at the girl as she nodded, "Well, when I compare the two of you, I can't help but think of that. From what I've seen, you would rather talk your way out of a problem, am I right?" he received another nod, "Thalia's the kind of girl who would rather kick her problem's teeth out, she acts without thinking sometimes... I think you'd balance each other out, like you'd stop her before she'd get herself arrested."

The two of them shared a laugh, whatever tension that was leftover melting away. They kept up their conversation, talking and laughing with each other, until they heard the doorbell ring.

"It looks like Jim's here." Percy calmed himself, "Are you ready?"

Claire took in a breath as she stood, "As ready as I'll ever be." And with that she moved to open the door.

Jim stood in the doorway, a nervous smile plastered on his face. Why wouldn't he be nervous, this was his first time being in a girl's house after all. He gripped the strap of his bag as he heard the handle turn. the boy could see Claire as she opened the door, prompting him to straighten his posture, "H-hey, Claire! Nice, um, casa."

The girl let out a small laugh, "Thanks, come on in."

Jim stepped into the house and looked around. It really was a nice house, everything was neat and tidy, not a hair out of place. Before he could appreciate the home any further, Jim looked into the living room and saw Mr. Jackson. His spirit fell at the sight of the teacher. He had thought that when Claire had asked him over that it would be just the two of them.

"I hope you don't mind but I invited Mr. Jackson over," Claire called from the kitchen, "He helped me a lot with my math homework last semester, so I figured he could help you too!"

"Oh, yeah, no problem!" Jim said stiffly as the girl came back into the room with two bowls of corn chips and guacamole, "That's just fine." He followed Claire to the couch and sat next to her, Mr. Jackson on her other side.

The teacher scooted to the edge of the couch, leaned forward so he look at the boy better, "Alright, Jim, what's Janeth done to punish you?"

The boy forced out a laugh, "Are you kidding me? Math homework always feels like a punishment." He received laughs from the others as he opened his bag and pulled out his homework. He set it on the coffee table and opened his book, "She's dropped a whole load of work on me, I'm not even sure we've gone over some of this in class!"

Mr. Jackson grinned at his words, "Trust me, Jim, there's a lot of times your gonna feel like that, you just need to take a breath and calm down. Now, why don't you try one of the problems and I'll look it over and try help where I can, sound good?"

"Sure, sounds good..." Jim looked at one of the problems and began trying to solve it, but his focus was elsewhere.

'Seriously, why did she have to invite Mr. Jackson?' the Trollhunter finished his attempt at the problem, 'She spends so much time with him, it's like they're joined at the hip or something!' His teacher finished the explanation he hardly paid attention to, 'I get that he's close to her family and all, but still! He has no idea how lucky he is that she wants to be around so much...' He stopped and ruminated on his thoughts and let out an internal sigh, 'Am I really jealous of him? He's our teacher, Mr. Jackson probably just wanted to help me and Claire.'

Jim shook his head, shifting his focus to the metric ton of algebra in front of him. Mr. Jackson was patient with Jim through the mistakes he made, and Claire stepped in to help as well, though he did get a bit distracted when she leaned close to point at his paper. Nevertheless, the boy forced his focus onto the task at hand and, after a while he began to feel more confident about his work, "Heh, I think I'm actually starting to get the hang of this!"

"See, Jim, all it takes is some practice and a bit of help!" Claire patted his shoulder, jostling it a bit. He grinned at her and Mr. Jackson before turning back to his book and finishing another set of questions. He was about to move on when Claire spoke again, "Uh, Jim, I didn't ask you over to just talk about math..."

The boy froze, his hand halfway to the paper. His eyes flitted between Claire and Mr. Jackson, worry beginning to gnaw at him, 'She's not talking about-' Claire pulled the letter he left her out of her pocket, 'The letter... But why is she bringing this up when Mr. Jackson's in- She told him, didn't she? Oh God, please tell me she didn't!'

"You can't just leave a letter like this and not expect me to have questions!" She waved the envelope at him, "When I first read this, it really scared me, so I showed it to Mr. Jackson."

Jim let out an exacerbated groan, leaning back on the couch and covering his eyes with his hands, "Oh, God..."

Mr. Jackson leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Look, Jim, whatever troubles you're having... don't be afraid to talk about them, other people have gone through their own experiences and they could help you, so why don't you let us?" The boy removed his hands from his eyes and straightened his posture. He turned to look at them, brows turned up slightly, "Jim... Are you in trouble?"

Jim's grasped for an excuse, anything, that would keep them from the truth, "Uh, yeah! Metaphorically! I tried being a little poetic, I guess, probably didn't do that hot." He let out a nervous chuckle as he looked at the two in front of him.

Claire was the first to speak, "Jim, what you wrote was beautiful, don't think it isn't, it's just that it was a bit... worrying."

"Claire's right, Jim, I mean you were talking about facing monsters and protecting the world." Mr. Jackson stood and moved in front of the boy, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, "Why don't you tell us what's wrong?"

Jim looked at the teacher. He wore a sympathetic smile and he reached his hand out to pat his shoulder. The boy relaxed at the gesture, "I've just had a lot on my mind recently, you know? With the play, school and my mom... there's just a lot going on right now."

"Your mom?" Claire rested a hand on his back, "What's wrong with your mom?"

Jim cast his eyes down, sighing, "It's nothing really, but it's just that I hardly ever see her and when I do it's when she's dead tired or on her way out the door, we barely have any time to talk, let alone to actually spend together."

"Jim believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel." Mr. Jackson spoke, "From fourth grade to sixth I had to spend every semester in three different boarding schools. My mom sent me to them and each year I'd do something that would get me kicked out. I'd like to think that they were just accidents but something tells me that I probably meant to do them subliminally so I'd get sent back home to my mom."

The teacher let out a sound half way between a groan and a sigh, "I'd be so excited to see her, but then I'd open the apartment door and see her disappointed face and I would feel horrible for putting her through the trouble of getting me in another school." Jim didn't speak, silently urging him to continue, "I never understood why she'd send me to boarding schools, I knew she loved me, I had no question about that, so I kept asking myself why she didn't put me in a public school. Then, when I was twelve, I learned that my stepdad, Gabe, was hitting her and I finally understood that she kept putting me in those schools to protect me from him."

Jim and Claire watched as their teacher let out a low breath and blink a few times. He refocused on Jim and leaned forward, "Jim, your mom may not be able to spend that much time with you, but just know that all the time she spends away from you, she's thinking of you and from what I've seen, there's nothing she wouldn't do for you."

The two looked at each other with empathy, small smiles on their faces. Mr. Jackson sat up, "Now what else is bothering you?"


	5. Chapter 5

As much as Percy enjoyed teaching, he enjoyed weekends even more. They were his respite from work and, since he graded everything on Fridays and there was no weekend practice for the play, he was free to do nothing but relax. That isn't to say that recent events allowed him any time _to_ relax.

Percy had took it upon himself to train Jim in swordplay so that the boy didn't die during his Trollhunter duties. Thankfully the time for the boy's training wasn't until later that day, allowing the demigod some time to himself. He had Imperious on a leash as he walked the dog through Arcadia's town square. The sun was out and Percy felt like the warming rays were recharging him.

The man looked around, taking in the calm atmosphere of the town. Mother's sat on the benches around the fountain, watching their children as they played, elderly people sat in the shade of the gazebo as they played chess, and couples walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand. Percy smiled at their naivety, envious of their ignorance to the supernatural. He saw a familiar burrito truck parked on the other side of the town square and felt his stomach growl a little. The man urged his hellhound across the street, and made his way toward the red truck. Nobody was in the window and there was no line yet, causing Percy to grin. He leaned against the side of the vehicle and rapped his fist against the side twice, making loud thuds against the metal.

There was a small clatter from within the truck, along with a startled shout. A portly man with brown hair and stubble poked his head out the window, a frown on his face. He spoke in an accented voice, "Alright, who's doin-" His eyes landed on Percy and his frown turned into a relieved smile, "Oh, Percy, it's just you, thank heavens!"

The demigod returned the man's smile. "Hey, Stuart, how you doing?"

"Oh, I'm good, though about a minute ago I got this ringing in my ear!" He and Percy shared a laugh. Stuart braced his forearms against the fold out counter. "The grill's still got to warm up, you want the usual?"

"You know me so well, Stu." Percy smiled at Stuart, who moved back into his food truck. He stood outside as Stuart got to work. As he moved back in front of the window, Stuart asked, "So, are we still on for the concert on Friday?"

The demigod barked out a laugh, "You think I'd miss it? It's only so often we can act like kids again, no way I'd let this pass me by!"

"Oh ho ho, I hear that!" Stuart came back to the window, paper plate in hand. He set the plate down, a burrito wrapped in foil on it, ready to be eaten. "Bon Appetit."

Percy took the plate and gave it a light sniff before letting out a light sigh, "Gordan Ramsey doesn't have shit on you, Stuart."

"Ahh, there's no reason to lie, Perce." the man waved his friend off. "But, please, go on."

The two laughed together and bid each other farewell. Percy walked down the sidewalk, eating his burrito. Imperious walked beside him, looking up at him (or at least at the burrito) with big, brown eyes and pawing at his pant leg. The man chuckled at his dog, "No, Imperious, this is my food, I'll feed you when... we get..." The demigod was distracted by the sight of something scurrying across the wires above the street. It was big, as small things go, and it was carrying what looked like something wrapped in cloth, like a swaddled baby.

Percy's eyes widened. He dropped the burrito and leash and bolted down the sidewalk. Imperious was right on his heels, having caught the burrito in his mouth. The man was a blur to anyone who saw him as he followed the baby snatcher. He raced past Toby and Jim, nearly knocking them over.

"Was that Mr. Jackson?" Toby asked as he regained his balance. Imperious ran past them. "And a giant dog?!"

"That doesn't matter right now, Tobes, we're losing the goblin!" Jim said, getting up and running after the goblin. The two rounded a corner into a dead end. They were just in time to see Mr. Jackson kick off a dumpster and land feet first against one of the alley walls. He did a backflip off the wall and landed on the roof before running again. The dog jumped onto the dumpster and leapt onto the roof after the teacher.

"Holy- wha-" Toby stammered, gripping his hair. He turned to Jim, grabbed his shoulders and began shaking him. "Did you see that, Jim?! Mr. Jackson just did something straight out of a videogame! And- and that dog! Was that his?!" Jim smacked his friend's hands off of him. He walked deeper into the alley, staring at the roof Mr. Jackson and Imperious disappeared on. As he walked further, he felt something underfoot. Looking down, he saw it was a stuffed rabbit. He knelt down and picked it up as he turned back to the roof.

"Mr. Jackson... who are you?"

* * *

Percy sat in his kitchen, frustrated. The green... thing had gotten away. It had jumped into the tree line and he had lost it... and the baby. He tried to get Imperious to track whatever it was, but it was like it just vanished. He felt like screaming, but he didn't want to explain the noise to his neighbors. The teacher sighed tiredly and stood, choosing to busy himself by preparing for Jim's lesson that was in an hour.

The man opened his garage door, a training dummy slung over his shoulder. He made to go around his house to the back when a voice stopped him. "Hey, Mr. Jackson, what're you doing?" The son of Poseidon turned to see Claire walking up to him, a smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back. Percy gave her a lopsided grin as she approached, some of his earlier gloom vanishing. "Nothing much, Claire, just setting up for when Jim gets here for his lesson."

"Oh!" The girl perked up at the mention of the training. "Could I watch? I'd love to see what a swordfight looks like outside the movies!"

Percy grinned at her enthusiasm. "Sure, I don't see a problem with that, but could you help me bring some stuff to the backyard?"

"Of course! what do you need?" Claire was practically bouncing with excitement. Percy motioned to his garage. "There are a few training swords in there, leaning against the tool bench, could you bring them back for me?" The teen nodded and jogged into the garage as Percy moved around his house. He staked the dummy he was carrying into the ground just as Claire came into the backyard. She walked towards him and he took the swords, leaning them against the dummy. The man checked his watch. "Jim won't be here for another thirty minutes or so, I'm gonna go get changed, will you be alright down here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." With those words of reassurance Mr. Jackson retreaded inside, leaving Claire alone with her thoughts.

'What am I doing?' The girl sat and rested her chin in her palm. 'Am I being clingy? I mean, Mr. Jackson said I could watch, but still...' Claire exhaled a sigh. 'We spend so much time around each other... why doesn't he ever turn me away? Could he... maybe...' She shook her head and her shoulders sagged. 'No, there's no way, he's my teacher... he's just being nice, no matter how badly I want there's no way he'll ever like me the way I want him to...'

Claire's eyes drooped, her thoughts bringing on a self-inflicted melancholy. She was brought out of her sadness when Mr. Jackson stepped back outside. Claire looked at him and couldn't hold back her blush. The man, her teacher and crush, stood in front of her in a tight fitting, blue tank top, black track pants, and a simple pair of black running shoes. Her eyes were drawn to his torso and arms. Even through the tank top she could see the muscles of his chest, and the sight of his bare arms made her wonder what it would feel like to have them wrapped around her. Mr. Jackson took in a deep breath and stretched his arms. Watching the way his muscles flexed as he did so only caused the girl's blush to deepen.

Mr. Jackson turned to look at his student, no odubt noticing her red face. He chuckled and said, "We've still got some time before Jim gets here, wanna play with Imperious?"

"Uh..." Claire spaced out. She shook her head slightly. "Y-yeah, I'd like that." Mr. Jackson grinned and turned around. He stuck his head through the back entrance and whistled, calling for his dog. Imperious Rex came charging into the backyard, barreling past his master and running in circles on the grass. Claire giggled at the dog's playfulness. The sound drew Imperious' attention. The hound stopped moving and stared at her, panting with his tongue hanging out. He bounded towards her and jumped on her. The dog's paws hit her shoulders, knocking her onto her back. Clair called out in surprise before Imperious began to lick her face. Claire started laughing as she tried to push the hefty canine off of her.

"Imperious down!" The dog stopped midlick and moved off the girl. Claire pushed herself up to see Mr. Jackson rubbing the back of his neck and holding Imperious' collar with an apologetic grin on his face. "S-sorry about that, Claire, I don't know what got into him..."

Claire wiped her face with a chuckle, "It's alright, he's just excited."

"The bathroom's upstairs at the end of the hall," Mr. Jackson told her, "If you want to wash your face."

"Thanks, Mr. Jackson." Claire picked herself up and went inside.

Percy looked down at his hellhound disapprovingly. "Bad boy, Imperious, we don't jump on guests." The dog's ears drooped and a whine escaped him. "Get inside, go on." The demigod pointed to the still open sliding glass door. Imperious trotted inside, Percy following after. He had just slid the backdoor closed when the doorbell rang. The man opened the front door, revealing Jim standing on his doorstep. The teacher smiled. "Hey, Jim." He moved aside to let his student inside. "You ready to get started?"

The boy chuckled nervously, "As ready as I'll ever be." The two moved through the house. They were in the living room when they heard someone coming from upstairs. Claire rounded the corner into the living room and Jim began to sputter, "C-Claire, what, uh, what are you doing here?"

"I saw Mr. Jackson setting up for your lesson and I asked if I could watch," The girl explained as she approached the two, "I wanted to see what an actual swordfight looks like."

"Is that alright with you, Jim?" Percy asked, "I know we haven't had many sessions before now, but-"

"Oh, no, it's fine, there's no problem." The boy gave the two an awkward smile. The group walked into the backyard, where Percy grabbed the training swords and tossed one to Jim. He smirked at his student. "Let's give Claire a show, shall we? Show me what you've learned."

Percy gripped the handle of his sword with both hands and got into a fighting stance. Jim followed suit and Claire sat where she had before. Percy and Jim stared each other down, waiting to see who would make the first move. After what felt like an eternity, Jim made the first move.

The boy rushed his teacher, bringing his sword down in an overhead strike. Percy lifted his sword, blocking the attack. He smirked at Jim. "You've got a pretty good swing there, Jim, but," The demigod moved his sword to knock Jim's away. He swiped at the boy's midsection but he backpedaled to avoid it. "You're predictable." The two clashed again, their wooden blades knocking against each other, ducking and dodging swipes and strikes. The fight fell into a rhythm, Jim would attack, Percy would counter and push him back, only for the boy to get his ground back not long after. This rhythm continued until Jim surprised his teacher. The boy leapt backwards, rearing back. He flung his sword at Percy.

Percy's reflexes kicked in before he could think. He twisted to the side, dodging the projectile. As it passed, the man grabbed the handle. He span in a circle to gain momentum and threw the sword back at the boy, where it imbedded itself in the ground between his feet.

The backyard was silent. Percy's mind finally caught up with him and he straightened, coughing into his fist. "Well done, Jim, you've improved by leaps and bounds." he said, 'Damn it, I let myself get carried away... If I had aimed a little higher he could have been hurt...' The man turned to Claire, grinning at her. "So, did this live up to the Hollywood hype?"

"That was incredible!" Claire jumped from her seat and ran to him. "The way you went back and forth like that, and- and that move you did at the end, you were amazing, Mr. Jackson!" She stiffened before she could continue and hurriedly looked at Jim. "You too, Jim, you were really good." The boy seemed to brighten from the kind words as Claire turned back to the teacher. "Thank you for letting me watch, Mr. Jackson."

Percy gave her a warm smile. "Any time, Claire." He rested his training sword on his shoulder. "Now, I still have to teach Jim a thing or two, you are welcome to stay and watch."

The girl moved to speak, but a ringing interrupted her. Claire pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. She let out a disappointed sigh, "I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson, I'd love to stay, but I need to head home."

"Don't worry about it, Claire, you're welcome to come and watch anytime," Percy patted her shoulder, "I'm sure Jim would mind either."

"Yeah, I'm alright with that." Jim said as he walked over to the two. He had his sword in hand, the tip covered in dirt. Claire gave them each a smile and ran out of the backyard with a wave. The men looked after her for a while, looks of longing on their faces. Percy broke the silence, "Alright, Jim, back to training!"

The man drilled the boy for hours, until the sun began to set. It was then that Mr. Jackson stopped Jim. His student looked up at him as he spoke, "You really have improved, Jim, your doing better at this stage than I did!"

Jim chuckled, letting his arms hang at his side, "I guess, I've got a good teacher, huh?" The two shared a laugh. Mr. Jackson looked at Jim, a thoughtful look on his face. After a minute of scrutiny, he spoke, "Jim, I have one more thing to teach you before you leave."

The boy looked at his teacher quizzically as he picked up his sword. "What's that, sir?"

The man got into a stance. "Come here and lock your sword with mine." Jim followed his instructions and put his sword against his to where they were locked together. "Alright, this was taught to me when I first started my training, look closely. Your sword is locked with mine, neither of us can overpower the other, we are at a stalemate." The Teacher pushed his blade lightly, prompting Jim to do the same. "You have a few options, you could disengage and put distance between you and I, or you could give me a speech about who you are and how I killed your father," They chuckled again before Mr. Jackson continued, "Or you could do this."

Jim suddenly found himself without his sword and Mr. Jackson's at his throat. He looked at the man in surprise. "Whaaat?" His teacher smirked and pulled his sword away. He knelt and picked Jim's off the grass, where he had knocked it to. The man tossed it back to him, and the Trollhunter fumble to catch it. Mr. Jackson instructed Jim back into position and the boy locked his sword with his teacher's again.

"I'll do it slowly this time, watch..." Mr. Jackson twisted his blade, causing Jim's to move and he could feel the handle try to force itself out his grip. "You see, Jim, by twisting your sword while it's locked against your opponent's like this, you can force theirs out of their hands and you gain the upper hand by being the only one with a weapon." Jim looked at the teacher as he stopped twisting his sword. "You try."

The Trollhunter nodded determinedly. He pushed his sword against Mr. Jackson's, forcing them to lock. The boy grit his teeth and twisted his sword. The wooden sword fell out of the teacher's hands and onto the ground. The man laughed triumphantly, "Good job, Jim! You still need some practice, but that was an excellent first try!"

Jim beamed at Mr. Jackson's words. "Thanks." The boy looked at his teacher. He was a good guy, he actually talked _with_ Jim and his other students (especially Claire) instead of _at_ them, he seemed to like teaching, even going out of his way to train Jim while volunteering to help with the play and he stood up for Jim against Steve.

Still... Jim had begun to notice strange things about the teacher

It wasn't anything too noticeable at first, it was just the way his words seemed to have some sort of deeper meaning. It was like he meant what he said, but there was something behind his words, as if there was an inside joke that only he was in on. Jim just brushed it all off, but what he saw that morning with Toby... There was no doubt about it in the boy's mind, Mr. Jackson had been chasing that Goblin.

Ever since Jim came to that conclusion, his mind had been running a thousand miles a minute, trying to come to a conclusion on just who or what his teacher was. Was he a magical creature in disguise? Was he some sort of human looking, day walking troll? Was he a regular human and was Jim overreacting? All of these thoughts passed through the Trollhunter's mind until he finally came to a question that made his blood run cold.

Was Mr. Jackson a changeling?

Jim scoffed at the idea at first, but the more he thought about the more it stuck with him. He had no proof to back his claim, but why else would the man have been following a goblin? The boy wished he had the gaggletack with him, but he had let Toby hold onto before they checked the school.

Mr. Jackson led Jim to the front door. They said their goodbyes and Jim walked out of the house. He sighed as reached the sidewalk. He would just have to try it in the morning.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so... 's'been a while... Alright, I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but I haven't posted anything in a while and you guys have been patient, so I thought I'd throw Dr. Evil a frickin' bone.

Now, some of you may have noticed the sequence of events is a bit out of whack here, in that Jim and Toby haven't gaggletacked the school yet and that Enrique has already been swapped... This was an error on my part that I will pass off as not being an error, because I don't make errors... don't... don't hurt me. Anyway the episode where they hunt for changlings can be glossed over fairly easily, no harm, no foul.

This chapter was meant to be longer, but I decided to cut it in half to satiate the hunger of my readers. But, just so you know, and imagine that I'm whispering this in your ear... there's gonna be some big developements in the next chapter.

Whenever that comes out, am I right?

Review time kids! Gather around!

DiZ-1989: Everyone reviewing seems to be focusing on this controversial pairing - there are fanfictions out there with far worse than Percy/Claire - but all I can say is that I think Morgana's defeat is going to be a lot more unpleasant for her than mere eternal imprisonment. I'm looking forward to this story; there's so little crossover with Trollhunters which is such a shame.

A: Yeah, there are worse pairings than Percy/Claire, but the thing of it is is that I don't wanna get run off of this platform because someone got too sensitive about the age gap and blows a whistle on me for something stupid. I agree with you about the crossover thing, there's so much room to make a cool crossover with Trollhunters.

Devourer of fanfiction: Dude great story but please update more frequently

A: Yeah, I hate that I don't update more often too... I'm just lazy.

SentinelStorm: (You guys are gonna have to actually go to the reviews to read these ones, I'm not gonna decieve you by using them to fluff my word count)

A: Dude, you hit so many nails on their heads that my jaw hit the floor. You are the first person to realize - or at least comment on - Morganna possessing Annabeth and that made me so happy, you've got no idea. I'm happy to hear that you liked how I wrote Blinky, he's one of the characters I think I'm actually writing well, I feel like I'm hitting the target with the way I do the others, but with Blinky I like to think I'm hitting a bullseye. I kinda feel like I didn't do too well with the grief part, but it's super incouraging to get this kid of feedback, thakn you. Yeah, I wish Rick would do more crossover stuff with the properties he's written, like Demigods and Magicians was great and I'd love to see more like it. Don't worry too much about me making people hate Jim, I won't make him out to be a bad guy... but he will get punched in the face by a pissed off female character further down the line. Also wait until next chapter, I plan on doing some stuff I think is funny.

Anyway, guys, that is it for now, I hope you liked this chapter, and I will try to get the next out in a timely manner... unless I come up with a new story idea... I have a new story idea... Percy Jackson/Twelve Forever... I like the idea... bye.


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